


Burden of Light

by idiosyncraticWordsmith (literaryAspirant), Whatwefightfor



Series: We Must Be Brave [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Big Found Family Hours, Canon Compliant, Chronological, Found Family, Friendship, Group Therapy, Group dynamics, Guardians and their Ghosts, Guardians off their shits, Multi, Pining, Sexual Tension, Trauma, War, We got issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-10-17 21:57:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17568671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryAspirant/pseuds/idiosyncraticWordsmith, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whatwefightfor/pseuds/Whatwefightfor
Summary: A City in peril. A Light burning out. A people on the verge of extinction.It is a time for heroes.These are the best we've got.Long-form fic, beginning with pre-game D1 events. Exasperated kinderguardian is "mentored" by a neurotic Titan and a Hunter who can't stay still for anyone.





	1. Vanguard-Assigned Friends

**The Cosmodrome, Old Russia; Earth**

Light beat down onto the red, dusty soil as the wind whispered through the broken dreams of an age gone by.

Some facts remembered: The Earth was eight light-seconds away from the Sun. One-hundred and forty-nine million, five-hundred and ninety-seven thousand, eight-hundred and seventy-one kilometers away, the brilliant heart of the solar system churned out more energy and light every second than all of humankind could produce in its history, and every eight seconds a fraction of a percent of that light came pouring down over roughly one-half of the planet Earth to bathe it in the love, warmth, and power it needed to cradle the people who would build these wondrous creations.

Some facts forgotten: How any of said creations worked. What that people was meant to do with any of it. What all that love and warmth and power amounted to, anyway.

None of this mattered to the Eliksni treading upon the alien land. All that mattered was salvage, wealth, resources, glory. The light meant nothing to them; it meant so little they did not even care that it should’ve meant something, even if only that something was revenge.

None of them noticed the light glimmering off of a scope a few dozen meters away.

The head popped clean off of one of the Vandals present.

They all noticed that.

It was over in seconds. Shooting, shouting; for all their scrambling for cover, half of their small unit was beheaded by ballistics before they could all find a place to hide. Then their assailant sallied out in full force, gliding smoothly through the air with his long arcane jacket flowing behind him, before tossing a grenade in an arc that landed in the middle of the Fallen, shattering into smaller packages of death, shredding the scavengers apart. The remaining Dregs tried to resist, but in an instant their executioner had his hand cannon out, and seconds after that they joined their Vandals in headless repose.

A deep breath. The clicking and clacking of a gun reloaded, bridling with restrained violence.

“Time?” The attacker asked, his voice edged with a slight mechanical gravel to it.

“Fourteen point five seconds,” The impassive voice of his Ghost answered. “A slight improvement. Precision kill ratio of 75%. Overall a clean piece of work.”

“Would’ve wanted it down to twelve seconds,” He noted. “Took too much time lining up the shot on the second Vandal,” he reasoned, gently nudging the dead alien with his foot.

“Science is iterative,” His Ghost reminded.

“Patrolling isn’t,” he retorted. “Although, with as much as there is to do out here… it might as well be.”

The Exo looked out across the vast Cosmodrone. He enjoyed patrolling here. It was the only place the Vanguard allowed him to go; or rather, the only place he could safely go. The Moon, he was told, wasn’t safe; some time before he was Raised a few months ago, the Guardians suffered terrible losses there, and no one had gone since, for fear of the Hive up there. He was curious about the Moon - and the Hive, which he had yet to bear witness to - but knew better than to go where he might not come back. Not that he hadn’t tried devising ways to make it at least somewhat safer… but all the same, the Cosmodrome was all he had to make himself useful, and it satisfied his ravenous curiosity well enough, as we as his desire for self-improvement.

“Picking up any other signals, Lexicon?” He asked his Ghost.

“A few,” Lexicon answered. “However, there is a transmission coming in from the City - Vanguard Ikora Rey.”

“Great…” The Exo rolled the white lights that served as his eyes.

“Paradox-9,” Ikora’s voice came through. “I hope your patrol is going well.”

“It was,” Paradox said, managing not to let his annoyance seep into the otherwise genuine-sounding answer. He didn’t enjoy being interrupted.

“I’m glad to hear,” Ikora replied, “Whenever you think you’re decently wrapped up out there, we need you back here at the Tower.”

“Is something wrong?” Paradox asked, his voice impassive.

“No,” Ikora replied, “but there is a measure of urgency. The other Vanguards are here with me. We have an assignment for you.”

“...I’ll make my way back when I can,” Paradox vaguely promised.

“We appreciate it, Guardian,” Ikora thanked. “Ikora out.”

“An assignment from the Vanguard,” Lexicon repeated, the awe showing in his usually distant voice. “Might be exciting.”

“Might be busywork,” Paradox derided. “I don’t appreciate getting leashed.”

“Shall I program the jumpship to set course for the City?” Lexicon asked.

“Sure, but take your time,” Paradox said as he noticed a larger patrol of Fallen, no doubt looking for their missing fellows. “I’m in no rush,” he finished, already aiming down his sniper’s scope.

 

**The Last City, Earth**

An armored fist slammed into a table, and the Blustery Brew practically shivered in its foundations.

“FUCKING -” Mezen recoiled, nursing his sore fingers. “What drugs are you on, Lee?”

Kirran leaned back in his seat. “Knuckle up, buttercup. Back of your hand can’t take the grownup table, don’t sit there to begin with.” He glanced over his shoulder. “That’s thirty glim. Double or nothing?”

“Good luck finding takers,” sneered Mezen as he slunk away, leaving a fistful of blue matter cubes on the table.

Sighing contentedly, Kirran dragged his winnings toward him, not bothering to count them out. What should he put them toward? Suros was releasing a new auto rifle soon. Supposedly its fire rate was twice the…

“Kirran!” 

The Titan’s head swiveled, but he couldn’t pin the voice on a face. “Who’s there?”

“Up here.”

Kirran looked up. A Hunter in blue-gray camouflage was hanging from the rafters by her heels, dangling just above him. As he spotted her, she dipped, her cloak tangling up his head.

“Shanks and pikes, Antonia! Can you  _ not  _ sneak up on me like that?”

A blur of motion - his brain only processed  _ Ghost  _ and  _ pink  _ \- flew past him and chirped, “She’s been hanging there for the last fifteen minutes. It’s your fault for not noticing!” 

The cloak vanished and Antonia’s boots hit the ground, her Ghost hovering over her shoulder. Her helmet was off, but her deep red hair was matted and greasy, plastered to her iridescent blue skin. “How’s it hangin’, cowboy?”

“Hi, Antonia,” said Tiresias glumly, floating above the table. Kirran wondered when he’d materialized. “Hi, Leto.”

“Good to see you, T!” Leto replied, deaf to his melancholy as usual.

Kirran’s nose itched. He reached up and wiped off a spot of...something. “What kind of oil slick sticks to a cloak?” Looking up at Antonia, he was again distracted by her hair. “And when was the last time you took your helmet off?”

“Probably the last time you got laid,” Antonia sat down cheerfully, then winced. “Whoops.”

She wasn’t wrong. That was the problem.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kirran waved dismissively. “Good to have you back.”

“Good to be back.” She unsheathed a weathered karambit knife and began twirling it around her finger. Kirran’s eyes followed each arc and twist as she spoke. “Tangled Shore is pretty, but the company leaves a lot to be desired. Got a lot of good intel, though.” Her eyes met Kirran’s. “Even had a run-in with Cyrell.”

Kirran raised his eyebrows. “Cyrell? As in  _ Ghost Hunter  _ Cyrell?”

“The very same.” Antonia smirked ruefully. “He went for Leto, I went for his eye. We both missed.”

“I’d like a crack at that son of a bitch myself,” Kirran spat, pawing around for a drink. Of course, the table was clear. He frowned.

Antonia grabbed his hand. He flinched, but realized she was knuckling up. “You’ll have to wrestle me for it. Dibs.”

Tiresias sighed, long-suffering and loud, and drifted out of range.

Kirran grinned. “You’re on.”

“TITAN KIRRAN LEE,” boomed Commander Zavala over the Tower PA system. “PLEASE REPORT TO THE HALL OF GUARDIANS.”

“Ah, shit.” Kirran reluctantly let go of Antonia’s hand. “We’ll settle this later. See you.”

“Not if I see you first,” she said, swatting at his rear as he stood up.

“You’re a goddamned cliche, you know that?” muttered Tiresias.

Antonia made an ancient and arcane gesture at him with one finger. “Missed you too, Little Light.”

“Hey!” Leto buzzed over to her guardian. “What did I say about calling other Ghosts that?”

Antonia’s reply faded into the background noise as Kirran shouldered through the Brew’s front door and out into the city streets. Another layer of sound, as well as the smell of rain and sparrow engines, caught him on a wave. He looked up at the Tower, its self-illumination lights stark against the storm clouds above.

“Should I bring the ship around?” Tiresias asked ambivalently.

“Nah,” Kirran said. “I’ll just take the express elevator.”

He raised his fist to the sky and felt the crackle of lightning in the air. Now, like Ikora said…concentrate on the lightning.  _ Be  _ the lightning. Be the  _ conduit. _

After a few seconds with his eyes closed, nothing happened.

Kirran thought, once again, that he would make a terrible Warlock. 

He thought about slugging Cyrell in the jaw - or better yet, Crota himself - and the Light leapt inside him, amped up and ready to go.

All it took was a little push.

Kirran launched into the air, raindrops pelting him like Cabal microrockets, Arc energy licking the jetstream in his wake. The wind howled in his ears, his surroundings warping into an indistinct blur. All he could focus on was his target: the back window of the Tower’s underbelly. Floor to ceiling, plenty of clearance, and right where he needed to be.

It was also closed. 

_ It’s raining, dumbass. Of course it’s closed. _

Well, crap.

He tucked in his legs and prepared to hit the window.

 

_ CRASH _ .

 

Three Vanguards had three different reactions. They all immediately prepared for combat, of course - what else would a Guardian do when their sanctum was being crashed into by unknown entities? - but upon registering the invader, Zavala’s face immediately fell into a glare which doled shame out in radiance, while Cayde’s mechanical gut threatened to burst at the seams, even as he tried to contain the laughter. Ikora, however, did not break her stern and collected expression.

“Kirran Lee,” she greeted curtly, as if he had not just come crashing in like a warhead. “We were just discussing you. Are you aware that the Warlocks have yet to weave Light into window panes? That glass has died a final death,” she chastised in her quieted sarcastic way as Kirran got back up to his feet.

“Ma’am,” Kirran snapped to attention, saluting the Vanguard. “Apologies. Don’t know what I was thinking. No excuse, of course. I volunteer to help repair the damages.”

“That won’t be necessary, Guardian,” Ikora assured.

“I expect these needless theatrics won’t surface in the future, Titan?” Zavala asked, severe.

“No, Commander,” Kirran assured, still at attention.

“Calm down, pal,” Cayde spoke up, finally getting a grip on his laughter. “It’s a window. Not a Ghost. Easy on the ramroddery.”

“Of course, sir,” Kirran said, slowly coming out of attention. “I’m still sorry all the same.”

“Why don’t you call me ‘sir’?” Cayde asked Ikora.

She was spared having to respond - and Cayde was spared being responded to - by the opening of the door to the room.

“Paradox-9, reporting as requested,” the gray-speckled Exo announced, before noticing the shattered window. “Was I not supposed to enter this way?”

“Don’t worry about it, Warlock,” Ikora told him. “Paradox-9, this is Titan Kirran Lee. Lee, meet Warlock Paradox-9, one of our newer Guardians.”

Paradox examined the Titan. He’d seen plenty before. This one felt different somehow. Guardians didn’t age, but his eyes… they didn’t match the rest of him. He looked young. The eyes did not.

He merely nodded at the Titan. He didn’t think he needed to do much more than that.

Kirran returned the Exo’s nod, sizing him up. Even though he was a kinderguardian, he looked like he had some battle damage. His gunmetal-gray paint job was chipped at his sharpest edges, and the red antennae on either side of his head (dubbed “cat ears” by senior Exo) had faded to an almost bloody hue. His eyes and mouth, both lit up white, were accentuated by his faceplate, making him seem more expressive than Kirran knew was possible.

And his expression was guarded.

Ikora continued talking. “Paradox is in need of an escort for his latest assignment. We thought you would be a good fit.”

Kirran wrinkled his nose, then checked himself, letting his face become a blank mask. “All due respect, ma’am, why me? I’ve never mentored a kinderguardian before.”

Paradox-9 looked like he took exception to that, but before he could speak, Cayde interrupted him. 

“Cuz you can hit things, like, really really hard.” He spun the chamber of his hand cannon. “Comprende?”

“What Paradox needs is less a teacher and more a wingman,” Zavala said. “It’s simply too dangerous to send a lone Warlock on this mission with no one watching their back.”

“Understood,” said Kirran.  _ So they want me around to intervene if the greenhorn sticks his faceplate where he shouldn’t.  _ “And the mission?”

“About that,” Ikora said, her face gone serious. “This doesn’t leave this room. Are we clear?”

Kirran nodded.

“Clear as water,” Paradox-9 spoke up. His voice was gravelly - was the synth damaged?

Ikora took a deep breath. “We’re planning to open up patrols on the moon. We need you to run some scans, and eventually place some beacons.”

Her words hung in the air for a moment.

“Boom!” Cayde said, nailing Kirran with double finger guns. “Betcha didn’t expect that!”

“Luna?” Kirran said uncertainly. “You’re lifting the attempt-no-landings order?”

“Tentatively,” said Zavala. “We’ve had a guardian do some survey work. They even found a way into the Temple of Crota. The Hive are still out there, but surface activity is low enough that we can get a foothold, for the time being.”

“I’m waiting on a report from one of my Hidden,” Ikora added. “Her expertise on the Hive is unparalleled. With her information, we could be looking at a chance to take Luna back, for good.”

_ Which means putting a bullet in Crota’s head.  _ Kirran nodded. He was doing a lot of nodding. “And we need a network. When do we leave?”

“Once you’ve made preparations, guardians,” Zavala began. “You are to leave immediately.”

Kirran saluted the Vanguard again, while Paradox merely nodded and made a sound of confirmation before turning and walking out. Kirran watched the Warlock leave before looking at the Vanguard, now in private. Ikora locked eyes with him. At first it made his blood run cold but she merely paused a moment and said ‘dismissed’ to him. Recognizing his welcome was worn out, Kirran made his way out of the room - this time though the usual route.

Paradox had left first, but was walking with a slow and deliberate pace - and was a good deal shorter than Kirran, which meant his stride was shorter, on top of that - so Kirran caught up to his new charge in short order. He was about to try going through the hoops of introducing himself when Paradox spoke up.

“I’m going to assume you’re not some vetted, pre-ordained overseer,” Paradox said bluntly. 

“Uh… come again?” Kirran stumbled out, confused by the sudden declaration.

“I thought you might’ve been given a special mission to play warden for me by the Vanguard,” Paradox said, “or to spy on me for the Hidden, but then I figured they wouldn’t use a Titan for such delicate work. Then I thought a Titan would be perfect, because who would suspect them, but then I realized you had apparently just come crashing in through a window, so you obviously weren’t delicate at all,” he elaborated, his voice even and rational. “At the end of the day it doesn’t matter. If the Vanguard want me to go to the Moon, I’m going, leash or no leash.”

“You think the Vanguard want to spy on you?” Kirran asked, confused.

“I’m a Warlock. I understand that makes some people nervous, including the Vanguard,” Paradox explained.

_ Makes most people confused and annoyed _ , Kirran thought. “So… is this your way of saying you trust me?”

“No,” Paradox clarified as they stepped out into the rain. “It’s my way of saying that I won’t do everything in my effort to slip away from you.”

“Listen.” Kirran stopped, grabbing the kinder’s arm, “I don’t know how much research you’ve done in your libraries, but the Moon  _ isn’t _ a place to fuck around.”

“I am aware of the Moon’s history,” Paradox responded, his voice beginning to gain an edge of impatience. “I am also aware that we have much to learn from this mission. I am not going to risk its success any more than I expect you would,” he clarified.  _ And I can always return to it on my own, if we succeed, _ Paradox thought.

“Good. Then we won’t have a problem.” Kirran released Paradox’s arm. “Just step where I step, will you?”

Paradox opened his mouth to retort, but the Titan was already headed for the hangar.


	2. Curiosity (Very Nearly) Kills the Warlock

**Ocean of Storms, Luna**

Normally,  _ Regulus _ -class jumpships were never refitted to anything resembling their Golden Age glory. Kirran had secured an exception, one which he liked to think proved the rule.

Although Amanda Holliday had taken care of the upgrades herself, making it technically part of her “Valkyrie” line, he had insisted she keep the original white-and-blue paint. He was nostalgic that way. 

His shieldmate Luke had been jealous. Kirran remembered the days they’d spent pairing up, patrolling for First Pillar. Luke had named Kirran’s ship the  _ Outrageous Fortune _ , a jilted remark on his luck and a quote from his favorite pre-Collapse literature.

Ancient theatre was a weird hobby, but Luke was a good man. As Kirran looked back at Earth from Luna’s orbit, he wondered if he was looking in the right spot.

_ Luke Romagne. Gave his last full measure at the European Dead Zone. _

“Tower, this is City Hawk 1138. We’re about to set down in the Ocean of Storms.”

Zavala’s voice came back with a heap of static. “Copy that, guardian. Proceed. And see what you can do about this interference.”

“Of course, sir.” Another objective. Great. Kirran cut the line.

“Are you going to call in every move we make?” Paradox-9 said, his own jumpship already far lower in Luna’s orbit.

“This is standard procedure for an offworld op,” Kirran said. “You need to learn that if you want to get out of the Cosmodrome without an escort.”

“What I need to learn is what the Hive are doing up here,” Paradox said. “Standard procedure can wait.”

With that, the Warlock closed his comms and his ship dove for Luna’s surface.

Kirran pinched the bridge of his nose. “All these new maverick guardians. They want to go to the moon, they want to go to Venus, and it’s to graft Hive tech on their guns or electrocute Vex milk until it talks to them or something.”

Tiresias’s shell turned on its axis. “You were curious once. Don’t forget.”

“Yeah,” Kirran grunted. “Then all my friends died.”

“So, let him go out and get burned. It’s better teaching than a gilded cage.”

Kirran looked at Tiresias straight on. “The Warlock?”

Tiresias shifted his geometrics, a Ghost’s shrug.

“Maybe you’re right.” Kirran took the controls and began bringing the  _ Fortune  _ down. “But Ikora put me here for a reason. He gets burned too bad, he might not come back from it.”

They broke the cloud layer. Paradox had already landed and was waiting astride his sparrow.

“Transmat,” Tiresias warned, before Kirran was dematerialized.

His stomach performed a familiar flip, and he reappeared on his own sparrow, hovering above the dust of Luna’s surface. He and Paradox were just outside the Archer’s Line mass driver.

“Beacon locations coming to your HUD,” said Paradox’s Ghost. Was it Lexicon? “The closest one is right over there.”

The area was highlighted in white, maybe a half klick away. 

It was also under the feet of a Fallen Captain.

“Sniper,” Kirran said. His rifle filled his hands and he looked through the scope. Seven, eight, nine...not usually this many Vandals in one place. Most of the Dregs were behind cover. 

A purple glow at the edge of his lens explained everything: they were escorting a servitor.

“Out in the open like that?” Paradox said to his right. 

Kirran turned to see the Warlock in-scope, leveling a rifle of his own at the Fallen. It was a decent piece, but due for an upgrade. 

Paradox saw him looking and chambered a round. “I’ve got this.”

“Wait,” said Kirran. “Let me get closer. I’ll flush them out, you pick them off. And  _ stay back. _ ”

The Exo’s mouth sparked. “Fine.”

Kirran ditched his sparrow and sniper as he moved. He used Lift to skate between craters, closing the distance as quickly as he could while keeping out of enemy sight lines. 

Tiresias, who had stayed behind, turned to Paradox. “ _ Please  _ don’t shoot my guardian,” he said, and disappeared a second later.

“Lex,” Paradox said, grabbing his own Ghost’s attention. “Start the timer when  _ I _ shoot first.”

“How shall I categorize the Titan’s kills?” Lexicon inquired.

“Subtract them from the total targets,” Paradox said. “I don’t want him messing up my statistics.”

He crouched down, secured firm rooting for himself, struck a balance in his weight. He scoped into the Titan’s movements as he bounded around like a pinball. Paradox knew he could’ve had half a dozen heads by now, but bucking heads wouldn’t advance their interests.

Kirran crashed into their front and opened fire. The Dregs started rushing out from their cover, but Paradox didn’t pay them any mind. They were easy pickings, surely the Titan could handle them alone. Paradox started sighting up the Captain, but Kirran already was engaging that target, and spraying suppressing fire down on the Vandals. Paradox noted his preferred way of mopping floor with enemy targets. Controlled bursts from the auto-rifle to soften them, then weighty strikes from the fist to crush their brains. Move around, throw some ordinance if needed, wash, rinse, repeat. It had flow, if it lacked elegance. Paradox realized that the heavier targets were already being claimed.

_ He’s leaving me the literal Dregs, _ Paradox thought.

He grumbled to himself, and started shooting down the pesky weaklings. They fell like flies in a coldsnap, one after the other. Kirran mopped up the officers and switched attention to the servitor. Paradox chambered a new clip, but by the time he was ready to unload into the thing’s eye, Kirran had already started pummelling it into scrap. Paradox made a mental note that, considering how Kirran handled the machine, it may’ve been more possible than he previously thought to suplex a servitor.

“Numbers?” Paradox asked as the servitor’s lights flickered out and died.

“Of ten targets,” Lexicon said, “seven were precision kills. Fifteen point eight seconds.”

“Annotate that this was with Kirran Lee,” Paradox ordered. “I want to start running the numbers up for when I’m around him. Ten in fifteen seconds is unacceptable, and if need be, I want to be able to deliver a damned slideshow to the Vanguard explaining why I work better alone.”

“Sound strategy,” Lexicon agreed. “Even Ikora will buckle under empirical evidence.”

Paradox and Lexicon rejoined Kirran, who was dusting himself off after the scuffle.

“Won’t lie, you definitely have a good eye,” Kirran complimented.

“Not my best work,” Paradox noted dryly; it wasn’t banter, but a simple statement. “Are we ready to move on?”

“You’re not curious about these Fallen at all?” Kirran asked.

“They’re House of Exiles,” Paradox recited, “the only Fallen House to reside on the Moon. Likely escorting this servitor away from a Hive incursion, or otherwise to somewhere more needed. Might even just be vagrants.”

“Hmph,” Kirran mumbled. Of course he had done his research. “Alright. Sooner we get things settled here, sooner we can get out of here. I’d rather avoid dicking around this place too much.”

With that, Kirran started walking off towards the objective. Paradox prepared to follow, but took a moment to look around. Specifically, towards the Earth, on the moon’s eastern horizon. ‘Earthrise’ it would be called. A charming name. He noticed the gleaming beams of the sun, made all the more brilliant by the lack of sky around it. It was a cold place, but warm; strange, but familiar. A paradox, like him.

“Lex,” Paradox spoke up, summoning his Ghost. “Remind me to make a note in my journal. I like the Moon.”

“Lunaphiliac,” Lexicon stated. “Will do.”

Paradox looked at Kirran as he walked away, and pondered what he said. He didn’t like it here. He wondered why that was. Probably, he reasoned, he served here, or his friends did. Many Guardians died in the Ocean of Storms. Paradox contemplated the Great Disaster in his head as he caught up with Kirran.

“Were you here?” Paradox asked suddenly, his curiosity driving him. “Before, I mean. The last time Guardians set foot on the Moon. You seem like you have history with this place.”

Kirran stopped in his tracks. He looked up at Earth, then sighed, a huge movement of his armored shoulders. “Yeah. I was here.” His voice cracked.

The Titan turned around. He wasn’t being threatening, but something about his body language made Paradox want to step back.

“I’ll give you the short version,” he said, and jerked a thumb south of Archer’s Line. “Liu Feng.” He pointed a few degrees east. “Gunvor, the Dawncaller.” Then he walked forward, to the lip of a crater, and motioned to the soaring crags of the Hellmouth. “Wei Ning and five hundred more.” 

“The Great Disaster,” Lexicon said. 

“ _ We  _ called it a battle.” Kirran made a fist. “And I was late.” He turned to Paradox. “Rearguard’s a shit detail. Try to avoid it if you can.”

Paradox’s brain was practically smoking. “So, Crota-”

Kirran dipped his head. “Him and his knights. But mostly him, yeah.”

“How can one person even  _ do  _ something like that?” Paradox glanced at Lexicon, who returned it, spinning emphatically.

“He’s the real deal,” Kirran said. “They say he’s a god, but you don’t feel it until he’s in front of you. The weight. The sheer killing intent.” His knuckles tightened around his rifle. “I showed up just in time to see him run Wei through. The bastard  _ laughed.  _ Whole time he was laughing.”

“So,” Paradox said carefully. “How did you survive? He saw you, right? He could have killed you.”

“Maybe he saw me,” Kirran said. “Maybe he didn’t. There weren’t many others with me. But after they killed everyone we’d marshaled, officially, he just...left. Went back into his hole.” He made an indistinct gesture into the wind. “I have no fucking clue why.”

_ Let’s find out,  _ Paradox thought, but he held his tongue. Probably not the best words for a grieving Titan.

“Anyway,” Kirran said, clearing his throat and shouldering his rifle. “You need to sit down and have a long introspective conversation with yourself if you’re even conceiving the notion to fuck with the Hive. Okay?”

“Okay,” Paradox lied. He was conceiving a lot of notions.

“Good,” said Kirran. “Let’s move out. I need to get off this rock.” Tiresias, who had transmaterialized the beacon, flew to his shoulder and disappeared.

With that, they summoned their sparrows and mounted up.

After placing two more beacons, mostly without incident, Kirran spoke up. 

“Hey, uh.” He had to shout over the slipstream of their bikes. “About Crota and the Hive. I didn’t mean to get all depressing and shit.”

Paradox waved him off. He didn’t really know what to say.

“Where were you rezzed?”

Lexicon whirred. “A bit personal.”

“Earth,” Paradox said, paying him no heed. “European Dead Zone.”

Kirran grunted. “Trostland?”

“Don’t know.”

“Huh. Well, there’s a lotta remains out there. You’ll have plenty of siblings, if you ask around.”

Paradox paused. 

“Is that... a thing?”

“Sort of. For some of us.” Kirran pulled up and sighted the ridge ahead. “Gotta stick together. Join an order, form a tight fireteam, do  _ something.  _ Just do yourself a favor and find somebody you can keep close.”

Drawing level, Paradox braked and squinted past him. There was some sort of dark grey structure on the horizon, tucked away in an escarpment. “I’m assuming you speak from experience?”

“First Pillar,” Kirran said. “Where you either have a death wish, or just something to prove.” He grinned. “And just folks I picked up here and there. If you don’t piss me off before we’re done, I can introduce you. Get you started in the Crucible.”

“I’d rather stick to patrols,” Paradox said, dismounting to more cautiously investigate the structure. “Don’t have to play nice with teammates when it’s just me and a field full of Fallen. No offense,” he said, hoping he wasn’t being  _ too _ abrasive. This was why he preferred solo work. Didn’t have to worry about insulting anybody on accident.

Kirran chuckled. “You  _ been _ in the Crucible?”

“...No,” said Paradox after a beat.

“Well, if you’d rather it be a free-for-all, there’s plenty of guardians who’ll jump in.” He started walking down the edge of the crater. “What, you think you’re the only lone wolf out here?”

“No,” Paradox answered. “But I’m not here to play dogpile. I’m here to get things done.”

“I’ll add that one to the journal,” Lexicon offered, materializing for an instant.

“Do that,” Paradox said. “Concise, definitive. Gives direction.”

“Acolyte!” Kirran called from up ahead. “Need you in-scope!”

Paradox bit back a smart reply and summoned his rifle, scanning his twelve for the enemy. 

There were clusters of boulders littering the bed of the crater between them and the Hive structure. Telltale green eyes flashed at their edges as the Acolytes peeked out, then ran for cover. Kirran stood midfield, advancing slowly as violet energy blasts went flying toward him.

The Titan let his shields take the brunt of the opening volley, strafing and weaving as they started to get low. He lobbed a lightning grenade behind one rock formation, and a moment later heard the despairing wail of the flambéd Acolytes behind it. 

Another group of boulders erupted in handheld shrieker fire, and Paradox couldn’t get a bead. “How about  _ you _ , I don’t know, flush them out?”

Kirran was about to respond, but the doors of the building yawned open - releasing a stream of Thrall. He squared his shoulders and prepared to meet their charge, but an Acolyte’s blast ricocheted off his fieldplate, sparking his shields to near-failure.

_ Annoying. _

He angled his auto rifle at the corner of the boulder and let off a sustained burst, sidestepping the first Thrall. As soon as the Acolytes instinctively moved - to retaliate, or to find new cover - Paradox opened fire and Kirran dove, rolling to his feet at the edge of the rock. The Thralls were on his heels, but they had to come around the corner to meet him.

Paradox was in a trigger trance, lining up Acolytes as fast as he could chamber new bolts. He sent a few bullets into the shambling mass of Thrall, but picking targets just wasn’t worth it. 

The last Acolyte had fallen when another squad came racing out of the entrance, a taller, bulkier behemoth just behind them. A tattered cape clung to its broad, gnarled shoulders, and it held a massive cleaver in one hand.

That could only be a Hive Knight. 

Paradox sighted the Knight’s head and - pleased that he’d beaten Kirran to the punch - fired. 

The Knight’s head turned, but it didn’t fall.

_ Annoying. _

“Kirran,” Paradox said, as he slammed a fresh magazine into his rifle. “You’ve got a sword heading your way.”

Kirran, who was waist deep in Thrall, made a noise that could have been laughter or a straight-up feral roar. “Great! Just great.” He threw fists and elbows in every direction, cracking skulls and sternums to clear a space. Once the Thrall backed off, he Lifted over the boulder, landing back out in the open. “T, I need Hive weapons,  _ now.” _

His auto rifle blinked out, and a heavy machine gun materialized in his hands.

_ I want one,  _ thought Paradox, as he sank another half-clip into the Knight. It was plodding toward Kirran with single-minded determination, hindered but not stopping under his barrage.  _ This is going to wreck my ratio. Die, already! _

Kirran opened up with his machine gun, mowing down the remaining Thrall. Unfortunately, the ammo counter dropped just as fast, and T appeared to be out of synth.

A pair of Acolytes were still trying to keep up suppressive fire. Kirran’s shields went down with an angry flash, and he dodged behind a rock, cursing.

Paradox switched targets. Both Acolytes fell dead from head shots. The Knight bellowed, a sound both earthy and metallic, sending chills up his chassis. 

Another roar answered from somewhere behind the door - far below, but getting closer.

Kirran stepped out from behind the rock, facing down the Knight. It was no Swarm Prince, but it wasn’t your average swordbearer, either; big, weathered, and so far they’d only managed to piss it off.

He dropped the machine gun and cracked his knuckles.

The Knight hefted its sword, sizing him up, and made a guttural sound deep in its alien throat.

Icy fingers closed around Kirran’s heart. He recognized that sound.

Crota had laughed just like that.

The moment he hesitated, the Knight charged, faster than should have been possible. It was on him in an instant, a heavy, overhand swing bringing the sword down in his head.

Kirran threw himself forward, smothering the Knight’s arm. The hilt clipped his shoulder, sending a jolt of pain down the length of his back. He swung an uppercut into its chin, and it responded with a backfist, breaking his grip and knocking him on his ass.

Paradox saw Kirran fall and aimed for the Knight’s sword hand instead of its head.

_ Crack!  _ His rifle barked, and the Knight missed the killing blow, dropping the sword.

As the Knight reeled, Kirran recovered, shrimping his legs so it couldn’t overtake him and launching a kick into its chest. 

The Knight backed up a step.

“Keep. Shooting,” said Kirran, staggering to his feet. His wrist stung from that uppercut.

Paradox fired again, but the Knight had finally gotten wise and spun out of the way. That bottomed out  _ another  _ magazine. He pushed a new one home. “Don’t need to tell me twice.”

The Knight went for its sword, and Kirran tackled it, trying to get its arm in a triangle hold. Every time it seemed the Knight had the upper hand, Paradox put a bullet in one of its knees.

Kirran pulled as hard as he could, waiting for the Knight to tire out.  _ Come on, you big bastard. I can do this all day.  _ Beads of sweat crawled down his temples. His helmet fogged up as he worked to get his breathing under control.

After Paradox shot it exactly thirteen times (five in the left knee, eight in the right) the Knight let out a hollow, musty huff and collapsed, offering Kirran little further resistance.

“Got you!” Kirran torqued its arm up and jumped on its back, going for his belt knife. It was a sixteen-centimeter, carbon-scored tanto, one that Antonia had lent him and he’d sort of. Forgotten to give back.

He plunged the knife into a gap between the Knight’s bony chestplate and its chin, burying it up to the hilt in its corded neck. There was a spray of blood.

The Knight flailed, throwing Kirran off. His back hit a rock, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped for air, pushing himself up.

As the Knight marched toward him, one arm hanging limp, Paradox emptied his last clip. The first three shots evened out the Knight’s left knee. The fourth went into its right, which gave out. The Knight fell.

It tried to stand, but lurched back down, landing hard. Kirran shakily pulled himself up to a sitting position, breath coming in gulps, as its hand found its discarded sword.

The Knight met his eyes, seething with hatred.

“Sidearm,” Kirran croaked. His pistol filled his hand. He fired.

Paradox was out of ammunition. He threw down his rifle and ran through his options. 

Kirran fired again. The Knight flinched, but wasn’t stopping. It raised its sword. He looked for an escape route, but its hulking frame was boxing him in.

He fired  _ again, _ running through his sidearm’s clip.

_ Screw it.  _ Paradox vaulted over a boulder and ran down the side of the crater, cooking a Nova Bomb in his hand.

Kirran’s sidearm came up empty. The Knight, triumphant, roared, shrill with bloodlust, as it brought down its sword…

And was vaporized in a purple explosion.

Of course, because he was sitting so close, so was Kirran.

“Shit,” said Paradox, standing over the, well,  _ atoms  _ that were left of the Knight and his Titan partner. “Might’ve overdone that.”

Tiresias popped out, pulsing with Light. “Happens more often than you’d think.” He spun quizzically. “Give a Ghost a hand?”

Paradox stared at him. “What - what are you asking me to do?”

“Help me resurrect my guardian.” Tiresias regarded him with something like exasperation. “You don’t know how?”

“Well, I -”

“No,” interrupted Lexicon. “We’ve never done it before.”

“Figures.” Tiresias sighed. “Here. Bounce your Light off of mine.”

Paradox hesitantly reached out and Tiresias nudged at his palm like an attention-starved cat. A warm, fizzy sensation traveled up his arm, and there was a flash of blue light. Kirran appeared, none the worse for wear, a moment later.

“Thanks,” he said. “Could work on your aim, though.”

Paradox scoffed. “ _ You  _ were in the splash zone.”

Laughing, Kirran held out his fist. “You got me there. That was good work.”

It took a moment before Paradox realized he meant him to bump fists. He felt Lexicon stir in the back of his mind, anxious for some reason.

After a moment, Paradox bumped fists with Kirran.

Lexicon relaxed and faded into the undertow.

Fluttering his fingers, Kirran withdrew his hand. “Since I ended up needing a rez, I’ll plant the beacon this time.” The white, receiver-tipped pike appeared in the Titan’s grip and he walked a short distance away, planting it out of sight between two rocks.

Paradox trailed after him. Now that the fight was over, his mind was buzzing with questions.

“Are all Knights that strong?” He asked.

“No,” Kirran answered. “Most of them go down after a few punches.”

“Than that one was special,” Paradox went on.

“Seems that way,” Kirran confirmed.

“I wonder why he was here…” Paradox pondered, looking at the entrance to the structure. “What is this place?”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s Hive, that means we stay away unless we’ve got backup,” Kirran said. “Which we don’t.”

“But we’re here for reconnaissance,” Paradox pointed out, already stepping closer to the entrance while Kirran set the beacon. “It helps to know what we’ve found.”

“We know it’s Hive, we know it probably leads into the Hellmouth,” Kirran pointed out. “That’s good enough for the Vanguard.”

“Not good enough for me,” Paradox concluded, standing now at the threshold of the entrance. He looked back at the Titan. He offered just enough decency to wait until Kirran was looking before walking into the doorway.

“Oh no,” Kirran said, chasing after Paradox. “No no no, absolutely not, I don’t fucking think so.”

“You want to hold the rear for me, go ahead,” Paradox said, barely turning back to speak to him. “I’m going in. We need to know why such a powerful Knight was left in charge of protecting this place.”

Kirran rushed up and grabbed Paradox by the arm - roughly, this time, and turned him around forcefully. “You have no damned clue what you’re walking into here,” he warned. “You want to hear more about the Hive I’ll tell you every damned war story I’ve got. But you heard what was in here. You heard that roar. Something’s in here that we don’t want to deal with.”

“Maybe we don’t  _ want _ to deal with it,” Paradox said, brushing the hand off his arm. “But we’re Guardians. We  _ have _ to deal with it. Now or later,” he said, turning to go deeper into the dark.

_ Shit, I wasn’t expecting him to have a good point _ … Kirran thought, begrudgingly following.  _ Fucking kinders.  _

They walked in silence together, Kirran’s nerves alive and alert for the slightest hint of trouble. The good news, he logically knew, was that the Hive was shit at ambushing. Too much shrieking to really get the drop on you. But still, he knew they were in the Hive’s home, far from Earth and the Vanguard and the Traveller. Who knew what kind of tricks they had up here in the dark of the moon.

“Incredible…” Paradox whispered, crouching down to analyze some of the Hive matter along the wall. “What is this stuff?” He asked, examining the tendrils of blackness emanating up and out from the mass.

“Don’t know,” Kirran said. “Darkness, maybe.”

“Saint-14 believed that the Darkness was a physical force,” Paradox contradicted. “His hypothesis makes the most sense based on what I’ve seen so far.”

“I don’t know,” Kirran said, thinking back to the last time he was on Luna, shivering gently where Paradox couldn’t see. “All respect to Saint, but, things I’ve seen… I don’t think it can just be guns and weapons and shit.”

“So you think this” - Paradox gestured to the black energy - “is what caused the Collapse? Black mist?”

“I don’t know,” Kirran said, growing impatient. “We need to-”

A shriek pierced the air. Not close by, though. Distant. Different. Not a war shriek. Something more bone-chilling, somehow. It was followed by a gentle thrumming sound, like distant drums but more stark. It was as if the walls around them were humming along. Paradox looked down - and saw the black energy was no longer emanating upwards, but coursing down along the walls.

Towards a destination.

“Move,” Paradox said, following the darkness with haste.

Kirran groaned. He didn’t want to do this, but he knew that whatever the Hive were doing in there couldn’t be good. He charged in after Paradox, knowing that it might get them killed, but the alternative was risking the Hive unleashing something even worse.

The two of them came up to a threshold leading into a larger chamber. Inside was a collection of Acolytes and Knights all gathered in ritualistic positions, while a Wizard floated ominously in the middle of them, going through arcane hand gestures and shrieking out what may have been incantations. Paradox stared in awe at the sight; he had no clue what was happening, but there was dark energy circling around the Wizard, as if she were channeling it for some evil purpose. Paradox wondered if the same could be done with Light, if he could uncover similar rituals to be used by Guardians.

“Scope out the Wizard,” Kirran ordered. “Get a damned good shot. You might not get another.”

“I want to know what she’s doing,” Paradox said. Kirran stared at him.

“What she’s doing is trying to kill every damned person in the system, that’s what she’s trying to fucking do,” he said. “Scope her out and take the damned shot before she gets away with it.”

Paradox stared back, then did as he was told.

“Titans…” he grumbled, before squeezing the trigger, sending a bullet right for the sorceress’ head.

Only to watch the shining bolt be flicked away by a dark tendril, and what seemed to be a kind of bone-chilling smile creep onto the Wizard’s face.

“Oh fu-!” Paradox started to swear in shock, before finding himself being yanked into the chamber by unseen forces. Immediately, he was prone, off-guard, and surrounded by Knights, all of whom plunged their blades into his shoulders and hip. He cried out in pain as the sound of metal being shorn ripped through the air. Lexicon immediately materialized to prepare for a rez.

Kirran’s heart stopped when he processed how bad this was.

Lexicon was suddenly enmeshed by a net of dark magic, and held in suspension as the Wizard seemed to telekinetically hold him with a clawed hand. Her free hand began gesturing, and Lexicon began to shout for help as pure-white tendrils began to seep out of him, disappearing into the Wizard’s palm.

All while Paradox, pinned by blades to the ground, watched.

Kirran launched into action, his sheer shock subsiding. He immediately mowed down the Acolytes in the room with his auto rifle, before going in for some wrestling with the Knights. He snapped one’s neck before the others turned their attention to him. He threw a punch right at one’s face, and  _ this _ time felt a satisfying crunch underneath his fist, before following up with another one-two to put the bastard on the ground.

“Lex!” Paradox shouted. “Get… Lex!”

Lexicon was still suspended, still shouting in pain. Kirran looked at the Wizard and the two remaining Knights, then at the Ghost just a few feet away.

_ Fuck it, _ he thought,  _ might as well try one last stupid tactic before I die _ .

He ran over and jumped up, grabbing the Ghost, and plucking it out of the ritual like fruit from a tree.

_ I can’t believe that actually fucking worked. _

“Run run run run run run run!” Lexicon demanded repeatedly. It was the most emotional the Ghost had sounded yet, and that emotion was horror.

Kirran ran.

“Tiresias, find us a way out of here!” He drew his sidearm, hoping it would have synthesized new ammo by now, and made a beeline for the door.

The Wizard shrieked. Something murky scoured the air, licking at Kirran’s limbs like flames. A Knight reared up in front of him. He fanned the air with his pistol, firing as fast as he could pull the trigger. He didn’t stop either, and ended up shouldering the wounded Knight out of the way.

“S-something’s - wrong…” Tiresias warbled. “Can’t...feel - the Traveler…”

“Yeah, I bet you can’t,” Kirran said, shoving down the panic rising in his belly. “Just focus on a tunnel. Any tunnel.”

Lexicon, who had gone silent, started screaming again. “Grab his body! Grab his body!”

Paradox was lying on the floor, still pinned there by four swords. Coolant and oil were leaking onto the stones beneath him, and his chewed-up mouthpiece was sparking erratically. 

He was going to need a rez. Which meant, yes, they couldn’t leave without his body.

_ Alright, how do I pull him free with that witch shooting at me? _

As he drew level with Paradox, a Thrall leapt over the Exo and right at Kirran. On instinct, he threw out his hand to strike its head - the hand that was holding Lexicon. Fist and Ghost punched through its skull, caving it in.

“Careful! Careful!” Lexicon wailed.

“Shit, sorry!” Kirran released his sidearm’s mag, stripping a reload from his belt one-handed. He took aim at the Wizard and squeezed off three shots. She hissed and drifted behind a pillar.

_ Now!  _ Kirran grabbed the first sword and yanked it out of Paradox’s hip. It made a grotesque wrenching sound. Paradox shivered, his malfunctioning voicebox releasing a flood of static. 

“Hold on, just three more!” Kirran went for the next sword, but a Thrall jumped on his back. “Damn!” He dropped the pistol to throw it over his shoulder, snapping its spine with a heel kick. His hand closed around the next sword.

The Wizard came out of her hiding spot to cast a volley of energy blasts at both guardians. Kirran stepped in front of Paradox, the incoming fire sparking off his shields, and threw the sword at her. He missed, but scared her back into cover.

Paradox groaned.

“Hurry!” Lexicon pleaded. “Our Light is fading!”

Kirran pivoted and snatched at the next to last sword. As he pried it free, more Thrall came from the corners of the room, rising up from pools of black, viscous liquid. “T, use whatever you’ve got left. I need a weapon.”

His auto rifle fell into his hands. Kirran opened up, spraying the room in wide circles until the Thrall backed off, howling. He went for the last sword.

The Wizard was right there, hovering over Paradox.

“...Shit,” said Kirran.

The Wizard raised her hand, and he was slammed into the ground - more like  _ pulled.  _ It rattled his bones, threatening to drag him through the very floor. He’d never felt such profound telekinetic power. 

As he struggled to raise his auto rifle, the casing flew off, its barrel snapping and shattering into tiny pieces.  _ I liked that rifle.  _ His vision hazed, blurring and warping alarmingly fast.  _ So this is how it ends. _

Kirran looked up at the Wizard. “You...got a gun...I could borrow…?”

_ Crack! Crack! Crack! _

Three shots. One downed the Wizard’s shields, the second passed through her cloak above the heart, and the third entered one of her eyes, blowing her alien brains out.

Paradox was holding Kirran’s still-smoking pistol, all while pinned through the shoulder by one last sword.

The pressure left Kirran’s body. He stood up - thankfully, he hadn’t lost his grip on Lexicon - and limped over to Paradox, pulling out the last sword. “Alright, let’s get you up.” He pressed Lexicon into the Warlock’s free hand and lifted him in a bridal carry. “T, Sparrow.”

That  _ roar  _ from earlier echoed off the walls.

Tiresias appeared, along with Kirran’s Sparrow. “Interference is gone, but we need to go.”

“I know.” Kirran draped Paradox over the bike, then looked over his shoulder.

Another roar. It was really, really getting closer now.

“Kirran!”

The Titan turned back. “Get them out.”

“Um, no,” said Tiresias. “Without me, there’s no coming back!”

“I  _ know, _ ” said Kirran. “But the jointless wonder over here can’t drive the bike. You get them out, you fall back to Anchor of Light, and you  _ wait  _ for me. Okay?”

Tiresias’s core light flashed. “...Okay.”

Kirran took a step toward the inner door, then stopped. “You tell Antonia-”

“She  _ knows,  _ Kirran.” Tiresias said gently. “She knows.”

Nodding, Kirran only said, “Go.”

Tiresias wondered if he would regret it, but he did as his guardian asked.

Kirran stood in the doorway, listening to the pounding footsteps and slavering bellows around the corner.  _ Could it walk any fucking slower? Of course, that helps me...shit, I just want to get this over with. Full measure, here I come! And all that.  _

The footsteps reached him. A shadow loomed in the doorway - one with long, apelike arms, a hunched back, and a mass of red, squirming eyes. An ogre.

Kirran called up what Light he had left. His fists flickered with lightning.

“I’ll take this dance,” he said.

Meanwhile, two ghosts and a guardian darted across the lunar landscape. Barely conscious on the Sparrow, Paradox’s dying eyes gazed at Lexicon.

“Did…” he mumbled through the static of his own voice, “did… did that idiot seriously stay behind…”

“He truly did,” Lexicon confirmed.

“He’s saving our lives,” Tiresias chastised. “Have some respect.”

“For the love of…” Paradox stumbled, sliding off of the Sparrow with his remaining strength. “Lex, get ready,” he ordered, aiming his hand cannon at his own head before pulling the trigger. Within seconds, he was back on his feet in perfect health.

“Come on,” he brushed his gear off before materializing onto his Sparrow, “we’re going to go save that asshole.”

Kirran’s back hit the wall. His helmet fell to the ground, rolling into the shadows.

“You waltz like a tone-deaf rhinoceros,” he spat.

The ogre bayed, cycling up its eye laser as it stomped towards him.

He dove. A stream of violet death flew over his prone body. Kirran pushed off the floor, but the ogre caught him with a kick. His hands found the edges of its foot, but couldn’t get a grip before he went airborne.

In hindsight, he was glad Tiresias wasn’t here to see this.

Kirran got to his feet just in time to see the ogre take a swipe at him with one giant hand. He checked his peripherals.  _ Yeah, I think I let him knock me around enough. _

He made a fist and met the ogre’s strike.

There was a noise like a thunderclap. Kirran’s arm buckled, and he surged all his Light into it, releasing his Fist of Havoc into a straight punch. Arc energy blazed across the surface of his body, traveling up his arm and frying the ogre’s rancid flesh.

The ogre moaned in pain and stepped forward, practically on top of him. It meant to force him to the floor.

First Kirran dropped to one knee, then both. Then his back bent, and he kicked out his legs, flat on the ground. His arm was still straight, elbow locked, holding the ogre back with all his might.

His Light was beginning to ebb.

_ Somehow I didn’t think I’d actually die here.  _ He swallowed, tasting blood. 

The ogre leered, its gaping maw opening in front of his face. Gobbets of black drool fell from its rotted teeth.

Kirran snarled back, spitting defiance. He gathered himself for one last push.

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you’re about to die. 

Kirran saw  _ people.  _

_ Paradox. Lex. Leto. Antonia. Tiresias- _

Something sparked.

Kirran’s vision went white, and a cascade of Light overtook him, like riding a tsunami. He felt like before - when he’d been standing on the City streets, in the rain.

A scream of fury tore from his lips as he was consumed, incinerating the ogre in a jagged bolt of pure lightning.

Silence.

Earthlight streamed into the room. 

Kirran’s head cleared. He hadn’t realized he was standing up.

He sniffed. There was a faint smell of burning skin on the air.

_ Where  _ was his helmet?

Whatever.

Kirran glanced at the remains of his faithful auto rifle, then headed for the exit without another word.

A familiar face was awaiting him at the exit. He felt a slight impulse within him to deck the Exo in the faceplate for being here when he should’ve been at the Anchor, but he was too spent to even think about it.

A moment of quiet passed between them.

“You made it,” Paradox said, his tone neutral.

“I’ll give my last full another day,” Kirran answered.

“I’ll assume that’s Titan-code for ‘I wanted to have another chance at a more impressive suicide mission’,” Paradox retorted, before shaking his head. “Mistakes were made. That shouldn’t have happened.”

“You didn’t realize what the Wizard was capable of,” Kirran assured. “Neither of us did.”

“True,” Paradox conceded. “But more importantly I didn’t realize the danger I was putting you in. I’m… not used to having to worry about keeping others safe. I suppose that is more of a Titan’s specialty,” he remarked. “I’m here to get things done. But not at the cost of life. Not if I can help it.”

“He can be taught,” Kirran laughed, in spite of everything. 

“I’m glad you made it,” Tiresias spoke up, floating back over to Kirran. 

“Come on, kinder,” Kirran continued. “I think that’s enough reconnaissance.”

Paradox stared at the entryway again. “We should find out what they were doing. And why they were doing it,” he said. “But another time. When we’re more ready.”

“Don’t worry,” Kirran said, “We’ll make a full report to the Vanguard about this. I’m sure they’ll be as eager as you are to learn whatever they can.”

_ No one seems as eager as I am, _ Paradox thought bitterly. He set that aside, however, to look at the battered Titan slowly making his way towards his materialized Sparrow. This was a man who had nearly died his final death because of Paradox’s own recklessness. And it was also a man who had conquered over something ugly in those depths, against all odds. The fact of the matter was that Kirran had saved his life from the Hive and lived to tell the tale. He took a deep breath and made a quick call. Not an easy one, either.

“Kirran,” he said, getting his partner’s attention. “I… would appreciate it if we continued working together for this investigation,” he admitted. “You have skills and knowledge I lack. And you have things you can teach me. And I have my own talents to offer. We’re better off together. For when we’re dealing with this, of course.”

Kirran stared at the Warlock, and felt his headspin. The kinderguardian was really asking to be a team. He was completely unqualified to mentor him, and frankly he didn’t want to have to come back to this place, the grave of so many friends.

But he saw the look in those white lights. Desperation. And he remembered the horrors within those caverns.

“Sure,” was all he said back.

And that was all there was to it. The two of them transmatted back into their ships, and once safely inside, Paradox spoke to Lexicon.

“Lex,” he said, “add to the journal: I. Hate. Hive.”

A silence.

“Me, too,” Lexicon agreed.


	3. Antonia is Lonely

**The Last City, Earth**

“And you went no deeper?”

Kirran shook his head. “No, ma’am. After defeating the ogre, I went to the surface, where Paradox had resurrected. We confirmed that we weren’t being followed and returned to orbit.”

He failed to mention a few crucial details; namely, that it had been Paradox’s idea to enter the Hive fortress, and that he’d tried to stop him. The important bits were all there, though - the Knight and Wizard, the ritual, and how they’d nearly lost Lexicon to the Wizard’s spell.

“We’ve seen something like this before,” Zavala said. “Drained Ghosts have been reported in the past. One was even recovered from Luna prior to this operation.”

Ikora shot him a warning look. “Indeed.” She turned to Paradox and Kirran. “You were lucky to escape with your Ghosts, I think.”

“Still, they’ve proven that the Hive are still vulnerable,” Cayde added. “Nothing a little ingenuity and punching couldn’t fix. If you ask me, we’re looking at an opportunity, here.”

“I agree.” said Zavala. “If we continue patrols on the moon and gather intel, we may be able to disrupt more rituals like these.”

“It seems like that’s the key to weakening their grip,” Ikora murmured.

“Not to mention the big green elephant in the room,” said Cayde. “This is all with him in mind, right?”

“You mean Crota?” Paradox couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “We’re trying to find a way to kill him, right?”

“In short, yes,” said Zavala. “But it’s not that simple.”

“Sir.” Kirran’s eyes flashed. “I’d like to see this objective through to the end, if I may.”

Zavala began to answer, but Ikora held up her hand. “Patience, Titan. There’s more to be done before we are even close to ready. Your part in this, for now, is finished.”

“But-” Kirran didn’t look happy, but he nodded. “Understood.”

“Get some rest. Both of you.” Ikora met Paradox’s eyes. “And I’m worried about Lexicon. Visit the Speaker before you go too far.”

“Ma’am,” Paradox spoke up, “Lexicon is fine. He’d tell me otherwise. And I see no reason to dismiss us so readily. We have firsthand experience with the Hive on Luna and it stands to reason that we are of value to further operations.”

A sound echoed through the room, even as Kirran already cringed at the insubordination on display. It could’ve been a chuckle if it hadn’t been so warped. As it was it was more like a scoff.

“Your ‘experience’ is not even a taste of the Hive,” a voice announced, as one dressed in dreary rags, with a blindfold covering three glowing green eyes entered. “You have witnessed a brush fire, and now claim to have witnessed a supernova. Do not disgrace yourself with such hubris, and do not endanger those around you with such ignorance.”

Paradox was about to retort before he realized who he was speaking to. The eyes belonged to an Acolyte. Only one person would have such a gruesome modification. His jaw slacked in awe.“Eris Morn…? The Guardian from the Crota fireteam?” He identified, passages from books and articles swirling through his head. “The rumors are true, then…”

“Dismissed, Guardian,” Ikora repeated herself.

Paradox stared at Ikora. Before he could say anything, he found himself being gently pulled from the room by Kirran’s firm grip. The doors had just shut them out when Kirran addressed him.

“Vanguards say you’re dismissed, you’re dismissed, kinder,” Kirran asserted. “They’ve got the big picture in mind. We don’t.”

Paradox tore his arm from Kirran’s grip. “Eris Morn is back from the moon. Nevermind that, she’s back from the _grave_. She’s spent centuries up there. She’s going to have a lot to say, and I want to hear it.”

“Too damned bad,” Kirran asserted. “You don’t know what kind of meeting they’re having in there. Probably confidential, Vanguard ears only.”

“The Hive tried to kill us,” Paradox reminded. “I want to know how to kill them back.”

“Point and shoot. Come on, I can help you with that,” Kirran offered, walking off. Paradox stared at him, then back at the door, then followed after Kirran, albeit grudgingly.

“How exactly do you intend to ‘help’ me?” Paradox asked.

“Your gear needs some brushing up,” Kirran informed. “That sniper rifle is outdated and your scout rifle is a low-tier model. You need firepower.”

“I need information,” Paradox contradicted.

“Can’t make holes with information by itself,” Kirran argued. “Fact of the matter is that there were a few times back there on Luna when you could’ve punched a hole in one shot that you ended up taking three or four shots for.”

“Are you commenting on my aim?” Paradox asked, suddenly defensive.

“I’m commenting on your guns, relax,” Kirran assured. He couldn’t help but smile and suppress a laugh. Of all things, his _aim_ was what got to him. Maybe he could get along with him better than he thought.

“Hrmph,” Paradox grunted, which seemed to be his way of signalling he had no reply. He still followed Kirran to the gunsmith’s, so Kirran took that to mean he was willing to at least humor him.

“Looking for something in particular or just browsing?” Banshee-44 asked Kirran.

“Getting him some upgrades,” he said. “On me.”

Paradox eyed him. “I can pay for myself.”

“I’ve got more glim than I know what to do with,” Kirran said. “It’s a bigger favor to me to let me pay.”

“I assure you, nothing here is worth-” Paradox began to say, until Banshee set out another set of guns onto the table at the promise of Kirran’s glimmer. They were sleek, smooth, projection-sighted, red and white. Lexicon overlayed into Paradox’s vision promises of supreme improvements to damage-per-shot efficiency, plus overall performance improvements.

“New Suros models,” Banshee said gruffly. “Just got them in today.”

“You like?” Kirran asked, not completely able to suppress his laughter at the sudden sparkling in Paradox’s eyes.

Paradox picked up the scout rifle and sighted it. The projection was beautiful. He could almost see Hive heads behind it, even now.

He glared at Kirran, knowing this wouldn’t be pleasant; swallowing pride never tasted good.

The glimmer exchanged hands without Paradox having to say anything else. He even got a new sniper out of it.

“You should probably think about CQC,” Kirran advised as they walked away. He picked up a new auto rifle to replace the one he had lost to the Hive. “You’re only really outfitted for mid- to long-range right now.”

“That’s all I need,” Paradox said.

“Not what you needed on Luna,” Kirran pointed out.

“I got caught by surprise. You haven’t seen me with a hand cannon. Besides, I know how to fight up close,” Paradox assured.

“Care to prove it?” Kirran challenged.

“Nothing to prove,” Paradox said.

“Have it your way,” Kirran gave up, deciding that he had pushed hard enough today. He wasn’t going to yank him like a stubborn ass. “Come on. Ikora wanted you to see the Speaker.”

“Lexicon is fine,” Paradox emphasized firmly. “I’m going down to the Cosmodrome.”

“Lex might _seem_ fine,” Kirran said. “We don’t know what the Hive might’ve done to him. You want to go down to the Cosmodrome and have Lex drop dead to the ground while you’re surrounded by Devils?”

Paradox glared at Kirran before walking off grimly towards Tower North, his Warlock gear flowing around him. Kirran wondered if he had different glares for different moods. Was that just a glare glare, or was it a ‘you’re right and I hate that you’re right’ glare? Was there a ‘shut up and piss off’ glare? Was he just this cranky and grumpy or was this his way of expressing shock after what had happened on the moon? It had to have been scarring for him. He had obviously been rezzed; it struck Kirran that it was probably the most traumatic rez he’d ever gone through, considering how brutal the Knights and Wizard were on him. And seeing his own Ghost get… ‘Hive’d’ like that…

Kirran sighed and resolved to stick around the kinderguardian. He just couldn’t get it out of his head that the Warlock needed _someone_ right now.

He caught up with Paradox as the Warlock just made it up the stairs to the loft where the Speaker conducted his business, just in time to hear his opening words.

“My Ghost was the target of Hive magic,” he said in way of greetings as the ancient scholar turned to him. “ _Please_ tell me he’s OK.”

It was the most genuine emotion Kirran had heard from Paradox so far, and it was fear.

“Ah, a Ghost,” the Speaker said gently. “Light be with you, little one.” He held out his hand.

Lexicon drifted over to him and suddenly stopped shivering. How long had he been shivering?

The Speaker took a deep breath. His mask hid his face, but Paradox imagined he must have his eyes closed. Was it in relief? Or in pain?

Kirran shifted his feet in the doorway. It broke the silence.

The Speaker raised his head. “You nearly met with a terrible fate. Please, be careful in the dark.”

Lexicon wobbled into the air, then with more control, hovering above the Speaker's palm. “Thank you. I will.”

As Lex returned, Paradox watched the Speaker carefully. It annoyed him that he couldn't read his expression. Of course, he was relieved that Lex was okay, but he wasn't sure _why_ he was okay. Had the Speaker done something? Was being near the Traveler enough? Or had there been nothing wrong in the first place?

“What did you do?” he asked hesitantly.

 The Speaker looked at him for a long moment. “That is the question you've chosen to ask, but not the one you need answered.”

Paradox bit back bitterness. He didn’t care if he _needed_ it answered. He _wanted_ it answered. But he knew the Speaker’s type. He’d hurl aphorisms and crypticisms at him until the Traveler came crashing out of the sky. The entire Tower was filled with people just like him, at best; at worst they were ignorant, or worse, apathetic.

He turned and stormed out without another word, brushing past Kirran without acknowledging him. He had a dire need to shoot things in the head.

Kirran spun to follow him, but thought better of it when he saw the Exo's body language. Now was probably a good time to leave him alone. Hovering seemed like a bad idea when he had plainly bucked authority twice in the last few minutes.

He looked over at the Speaker, who was watching the door silently.

“He didn't mean anything by it, Father,” Kirran said apologetically.

“He is young,” said the Speaker. “Full of Light and fury. Give him time.” He turned to Kirran. “And you?”

Kirran squared his shoulders. “You can count on me. I'll look after him.”

“And yet something troubles you.”

“...Yes.” Kirran averted his eyes.

“You still grieve,” the Speaker said. “We all do. We cannot move against the Darkness. When we are stronger, perhaps. But not yet.”

Tiresias, who had come out at some point, whirred at Kirran's shoulder. “So many have died and it still feels like we're not strong enough.”

“Yes,” said the Speaker pensively. “That saving lives requires such sacrifice is why we must have faith.” He crossed the distance quickly and fluidly, gripping Kirran's shoulder. “Faith allows us to carry the heaviest of burdens. Hold onto it, my son. To your last breath.”

“I will,” said Kirran.

The Traveler, far above them, was approaching its zenith.

 

**The Cosmodrome, Old Russia**

_Bang_.

“Seven targets, seven precision kills, ten point eight seconds. A new record,” Lexicon reported.

Paradox really loved this new gun.

He reloaded the sniper and walked over to examine the spoils of war he had garnered for himself. Engrams and scrap from around the region; the cryptarchs would be happy about that. Not Rahool, though… Paradox didn’t like Rahool. He suspected he swapped out the good gear from engrams Guardians brought him and replaced it with garbage from the back of his little kiosk. He had his own contact to go to for engram decryption.

“You are distressed,” Lexicon observed.

“I’m fine,” Paradox stated.

“You are lying to something that spends its freetime living in your brain,” the Ghost noted. “I know you are smarter than that.”

Paradox gazed upward at the moon above. “I wonder if they’ve started patrols proper…”

“You are ignoring me,” Lexicon remarked. “This upsets me.”

Paradox looked now to Lexicon. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Ghosts have emotions as much as Guardians,” Lexicon informed. “I would like to remain in the Tower.”

“I can’t patrol without you,” Paradox said.

“I am aware,” Lexicon replied. “I am asking you to take a break from patrolling. I am very tired and shaken from our encounter. I would like to rest.”

Paradox sighed. Even his own Ghost wanted to slow him down. That was the only voice he _had_ to listen to.

“Fine. Let’s get back to the Tower. I’ve got plenty here for Max to work with, anyway,” Paradox figured.

“Max again?” Lexicon asked, his tone taking on… some kind of tone. Was that suggestiveness?

“Yes, Max,” Paradox said, implicitly telling his Ghost to shut up. “Come on.”

 

**The Last City, Earth**

After logging two and a half hours in the Crucible, Antonia sat in the rooftop bazaar with a bowl of ramen. She still felt amped up, but if she went out on patrol now, she wouldn’t come back in time. Something big was going to break soon, and the Vanguard needed her here.

Plus, she had a few things to take care of.

Leto orbited her head slowly, apparently just as restless. Antonia had reached the bottom of her bowl, but she kept idly scraping it with her chopsticks. Hawkers from New Monarchy called out to passers-by. Tower techs and civilian laborers made small talk and complained about their workload. Occasionally, someone stopped in front of her to thank her.

That had stopped making her uncomfortable long ago, but she never let it go to her head.

Antonia sighed.

Drifting to her shoulder, Leto settled there forlornly. “I’ve been trying to cheer you up for _ever._ We’re finally home! And you just kicked seven kinds of butt in there. I thought Shaxx was going to start singing.” She flickered. “Was the ramen really that bad?”

“No,” Antonia laughed despite herself. “It was good. All of this is good.” She gestured wildly, out at the City and the Traveler. “I feel like I’ve been away too long. I always do.”

“Maybe,” Leto shrugged. “It’s nice to be back once in a while. Reminds us just how much we have to fight for.”

Antonia only nodded.

Leto swung in front of her face. “Soooo, what’s bothering you?”

“I don’t know.” With a sudden burst of energy, Antonia got to her feet. “Just don’t feel like I’m really back yet, I guess.”

While she returned her bowl, Leto trailed behind her, puzzling at her and making little _hmm_ noises. “Yeah,” she said. “You feel like something’s missing, don’t you?”

“Not exac - look, that’s not fair, okay?”

“Neurosymbiosis,” Leto enunciated crisply. “One of the benefits of being really, reeeeeeallly old.”

“Know what happens when you shake a light bulb?” Antonia retorted, setting off for the Tower’s main plaza.

Leto didn’t miss a beat. “Yeah, yeah. At this point, I’ve heard every threat in the book, sister. It’ll take more than that to faze me.” She took a long loop and cut Antonia off. “You should set a date.”

No. Nope. Antonia swatted at her, but Leto dodged out of the way. “Bad idea. I just returned to civilization and you want me on the market?”

“ _A_ date, like hanging out! Not a _date._ ” Leto spun her shell in agitation. “You’ve hardly talked to anyone since you got here! That’s why you feel so alone.”

“I talked to the Vanguard,” said Antonia.

“Protocol,” Leto replied.

“I talked to Kirran.”

“You _bantered._ And then _he_ had to leave.”

Antonia blew her bangs up. “Alright, alright! I’ll check VanNet and see if anyone’s home!” She rounded the corner to the Hall of Guardians, bringing up the overlay on her HUD.

In the midst of swiping past gossip and salvage requisitions, she was so absorbed in what she was doing that she nearly collided with someone leaving the Hall.

“Shit, sorry!” Antonia jumped back, catlike, and jarred her elbow on the edge of an  alcove.

The person - it was another guardian - had frozen, but relaxed momentarily, then stiffened again. They were wearing something shapeless and brown, so that at first she thought it was a Warlock.

Then she met her eyes. Her _three_ eyes. And Antonia recognized the slope of the nose, the cynical turn to the lips.

She nearly gasped. “Eris? Eris Morn?”

Eris regarded her from behind a gauzy blindfold. Antonia realized there was black liquid - something viscous, like oil or mascara - flowing from beneath it. “Antonia. We meet again.”

“You look - _alive,_ ” Antonia burst out, and flung herself on her friend.

She felt Eris tense, but allow herself to be embraced. Out of the corner of her eye, she tried to spot Ampilyne.

There was no sign of Eris’s Ghost.

She pulled back, with an extra step to give the other Hunter space. “I honestly thought I’d never see you again.”

“It has been…” Eris set her mouth in a thin line. “A long time. I am glad to see you alive as well.”

“How did you - I’m sorry,” Antonia stumbled over her words. Eris looked, to be honest, _awful._ Her skin was pale and her features were haggard. She had glowing green eyes that were leaking all over the place and she was wearing unfamiliar rags. Most of all, she looked like she wanted to be literally anywhere else in the world right now.

“Ampilyne,” Leto said sadly. “Eris…I’m so sorry.”

Eris dipped her head. “It could not be avoided.” She dropped her right shoulder casually, which told Antonia that she was looking for an exit.

“Hey,” Antonia said. “Are you just passing through, or are you here to stay?”

“I will stay,” Eris said. “Until my work is finished.” She fixed Antonia with a burning, thousand-yard stare. “Until Crota lies at my feet.”

_Of course._

Antonia let her hand rest on one of her knives. “I hear you. When you’re looking for people, remember my name.”

Eris may have been smiling. “I would not deny you.”

Nodding in thanks, Antonia turned to leave the Hall. “I’ll let you be. But if you ever want to talk - about Luna or not - I’m here. Got that?”

Sucking in a breath through her teeth, Eris visibly relaxed - well, more like shrank back, really. “I...will take that under advisement.”

Antonia shot her a bittersweet grin and went up the outer stairs.

To her surprise, Leto was quiet for a long time.

Then, when they reached the edge of the plaza, she spoke up. “That bummed me out.” Her shell clicked as she descended, eye downcast even before the Traveler. “I can’t believe Ampilyne is gone.”

“Want to go talk to the Speaker?” Antonia offered.

“No,” Leto said, with a bit of bite. “I want to watch you shoot some Hive. I’ll take my sermon later, when I’m not so angry.”

“Fair enough.” Antonia pulled up VanNet again. “Let’s see who’s up for it.”

She scrolled for a minute or two. Lots of KIAs. Slightly more patrol notices. Most of her active contacts were in the field, in the Crucible, or on rest rotation.

“Oh, look,” she said aloud. “Kirran’s ship is in the hangar.”

Perhaps it was a result of her Hunter training, or just having been out in the field for so long until now, but she couldn’t help but notice a breach in the natural flow of her environment when another Guardian, and Exo, seemed to perk up at the mention of Kirran’s name. She locked eyes with the Exo - he seemed worse for wear, but he carried a kickass new Suros model on his back. She respected a man with firepower.

“His cat ears are cute!” Leto bubbled out, her fury forgotten in a moment of appeasement.

The Exo looked over at his own Ghost, who also gazed back at him.

 _Thanks, Leto,_ Antonia thought. _Now I have to make small talk_. She couldn’t just let her Ghost make commentary on the ‘cuteness’ of an Exo’s body mods and not try to normalize that a little bit, she’d get a reputation otherwise. Well she had one, but she didn’t want to muddy the water with a different kind of reputation.

“Nice gear,” she commented. “New model?”

“Just stocked today,” the Exo said, his voice sounding like gravel put through three layers of static. “Tested it in the Cosmodrome.”

“How’s it handle?” She asked. She wasn’t really in the market for new gear but this would get him to forget Leto’s comment. She wondered if Leto had done that on purpose to get her to socialize…

“Just fine,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me…”

“Paradox,” Another, familiar voice called out. “You’re back. Hey, I wanted to see if you were interested in--”

That’s when Kirran noticed Antonia.

“Whatever it is, Kirran, I assure you, I’m not,” Paradox stated quickly, before walking away. “I’ve got a date. Appointment. Meeting. I have a meeting.”

“He’s meeting an appointed date,” Lexicon chimed in monotonously, though there was perhaps a quiet edge of humor to the sentence. Paradox released a mechanical groan that sounded like concrete dragged on rock put through a broken auto-tuner.

Antonia smirked, amused, and turned to Kirran. “Who’s the new kid?”

“Vanguard asked me to wingman for him,” Kirran said. “I have a feeling it’s gonna be a while.”

“Huh,” Leto mused. “You’ve never mentored a kinderguardian before, have you? No offense, but I kind of wonder why Ikora picked you.”

“It’s less mentoring and more like _wrangling_.” Kirran leaned against a concrete planter. A large leaf hung right over his head, shading his eyes.

“Keeps you on your toes,” chirped Antonia. “If you want advice, Nyssa’s pretty good with kinders.”

“Yeah,” Kirran said. “But she and Holborn and the others are entrenched on Mars. That’s a non-starter.”

Tiresias swooped over his shoulder, clicking idly. “You’ve mentored before, Antonia. Maybe you can help us.”

“Yeah!” belted Leto. “That’s a great idea!”

Well, it was. Except maybe it wasn’t.

“I don’t know,” Antonia said. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying…”

“What are you _talking_ about? We’re totally free of assignments right now!” Leto admonished her.

“And you _did_ just get back from deep scouting,” added Tiresias helpfully. “ You need R&R to get another expedition approved, after all.”

 _Damn_ it.

“So, you’re staying?” Kirran stood up straight and took a tentative step toward her.

Antonia sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am.”

Leto spun triumphantly. “Great! Just let us know next time you group up, and we’ll round out your fireteam!”

Kirran grinned sheepishly. “Well, I guess Paradox is busy, but I was heading for the Crucible queue, if you want to come.”

“Just came from there,” Antonia said.

Leto swung around, connecting with her elbow sharply.

“However,” she said hastily, shifting her weight. “There is something _else_ you can help me with.”

The tips of Kirran’s ears turned red. “Um. I don’t - that is - not sure what you mean…?”

“Easy, cowboy,” Antonia said, inching backward. “Just need a patrol buddy.”

“Of course,” said Tiresias, as Kirran looked to the side and nodded, coughing.

“ _Fan_ -tastic! Let’s get to the hangar and go, go go!” Leto flew in front of Antonia urgently. “Oh! Where should we patrol? Somewhere with Hive, right?”

“Not the Moon,” said Kirran. “Please.”

“There’s still a Seeder or three in Old Russia, if you know where to look.” Antonia opened VanNet and scanned for patrol beacons.

“We’re looking for Hive, specifically?” asked Tiresias.

“Ran into Eris today,” Antonia said without looking up.

Kirran did a double take. “You did?”

“Yeah.” There was a spot. Somewhere labeled BUNKER RAS-12. She closed the display and met Kirran’s eyes. “She’s the only one who made it back. She looks like shit, Kirran.”

“Wait.” He moved closer. “Where was she?”

Antonia raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think she wants attention right now.”

“Seriously,” Kirran pressed.

“Outside the Hall. Probably going to see Ikora.” Antonia searched his face.

Something dawned on him. “She must be the one behind all this Moon shit.”

“What Moon shit? That’s twice you’ve mentioned the Moon.”

Kirran checked over his shoulder. “Not here. Let’s get out in the field, then we’ll talk.”

 

“Researcher Redblood?” Paradox asked, his gravelly voice soft and polite in the quiet and secluded room.

He had gone into the section of the Tower reserved for Owl Sector and its civilian researchers. He had spent most of his time here, when he wasn’t patrolling or being trained. The scholars here were some of the brightest minds in the City, and they were keen and eager to spend their time discussing their work and theories with a Guardian who shared their passion and curiosity. Plus, in exchange for their company, Paradox always was willing to bring them items from outside the City. Everybody loved him for that.

Except Researcher Redblood. He enjoyed Paradox’s company without ever asking for anything in return. And yet Paradox felt the need to bring him engrams all the same, maybe even moreso. He was a historian, and had crypto-archeological training to supplant his research into the past, but it seemed to Paradox like cryptarchy was more like a hobby than anything else for him.

Redblood turned to Paradox and smiled. Paradox felt something in his frame flutter at the sight of those bloodshot eyes sparkling. He found beauty in Max’s frail form. It reminded him what all the research and praxis was for.

“Hello, Dox,” He greeted informally. “Is this for business or pleasure?”

“I don’t think there is a difference,” Lexicon piped up.

“Lexicon,” Paradox spoke up, “do me a favor and monitor all Fallen chatter in the Cosmodrome.”

“All Fallen chatter?” Lexicon asked. “That will require a great deal of my attention.”

Paradox stared directly into the Ghost’s single eye. “Exactly.”

Lexicon silently disappeared and left the two of them to their devices. Paradox turned back to Max, who was giggling under a hand he had raised to his mouth. His sleeve slid back a bit to reveal more pale skin, and as he put his hand down, Paradox noticed the field of dots indicating needle pricks, all accumulated over a great deal of time. Paradox frowned.

“Are your medications coming in alright?” He asked.

“Just fine,” Max answered, his smile becoming a bit more distant. He didn’t like focusing on his frailty. “I heard tell Eris Morn has returned after all her time dead on the Moon - and I heard you came out of a meeting with her.”

“I was kicked out of the Hall of Guardians as she walked in,” Paradox corrected. “But aside from that, the rumors are true.”

“What was she like?” Max asked, approached Paradox. His albino skin, especially under this lighting, made it hard to tell where his skin ended and his lab coat began. “She’s been up on the Moon for centuries. That has to leave a mark.”

“She’s got Acolyte eyes now,” Paradox noted. Max was visibly taken aback. “And she’s more than a little severe.”

“The trauma she must’ve survived…” Max whispered to himself, before shivering slightly. He locked eyes with Paradox. “Promise me you won’t end up tangled with the Hive like she did. I’ve heard about Guardians going back to Luna. If you ever go up there yourself, please make sure you can come back with artifacts for me.”

“I already have,” Paradox answered, presenting some of the engrams he secured from Luna. “Courtesy of House Exile.”

“House Ex-” Max paused, staring at the engrams, before greedily snatching them and going to work, before looking over at Paradox as he worked. “You went to the Moon and you didn’t tell me?!”

“It was a rushed ordeal,” Paradox assured. “Got partnered with a jarhead Titan and told to push off ASAP.”

“What Titan?” Max asked, still fiddling with the tech.

“Kirran something,” Paradox answered.

“Dox, you need to learn names better,” Max chided. “It’ll make your work more pleasant.”

“It’s pleasant enough,” Paradox countered.

“Dox, a time is going to come when you’re going to need allies,” Max told him. “Fireteams form for a reason. There’s forces out there no one Guardian can handle alone. If you don’t have people you can trust with you, you’re going to have to stay on the sideline for your own safety.”

“He has a point you know,” Lexicon spoke up. “Your statistics degraded by themselves with Kirran, but taken as a whole unit, you had a major increase in overall efficiency.”

“Thought I told you to--” Paradox began, but Max cut him off.

“Numbers don’t lie, Paradox-9,” Max said, smiling amusedly at him, before offering fully decrypted gear. “You know that better than most.”

Paradox sighed and took the gear. “Thank you.”

“We’re still on for Saturday evening?” Max asked, his face becoming hopeful. Paradox nodded awkwardly.

“Of course. Wait - am I coming to your place, or, are you coming to mine? Or are we just… meeting somewhere else?” Paradox stammered.

“I asked you out, so I’ll pick the place. I’ll send you an address to meet at in the city,” Max assured.

“Should I… erm… should I look like… this? Or…” Paradox stammered some more.

“If you have anything more… casual, that would be nice,” Max said. “We’re not going into battle.”

“Right,” Paradox said. “Right, of course.”

“Any other questions, O wise Warlock?” Max asked, assuming what Paradox presumed was a flirtatious pose, leaning over a desk with a sultry expression.

“Not… right now,” Paradox said, before stiffly bowing in farewell. “I’ll... see you later.’

“Of course,” Max said, straightening himself out slowly, somewhat disappointedly.

 _I did something wrong,_ Paradox thought. _Why is this so hard for me?_

Before he could make things worse, Paradox made his way out of the Owl Sector’s suites and towards… somewhere else. Somewhere he could keep a clear mind.

“As a notice,” Lexicon spoke up in his thoughts, “I am recommending we underline and perhaps circle Entry P-55 in your journal.”

“Which was?” Paradox prompted.

“We made it after your disastrous first meeting with Researcher Redblood,” Lexicon reminded. “Entry P-55: Awkward around cute men.”


	4. Paradox-9 Takes the L

Paradox saw no sign of Kirran or the Hunter he’d been introduced to for the rest of that day. Which was fine. It meant he could return to his dormitory unbothered, do some reading through the World’s Grave files, and sleep.

The next morning, he went outside for a breath of fresh air before the Tower’s day crews began their shifts.

The sun rose slowly, hidden behind the Traveler, but streaking the sky on either side with color. The City’s night ambience faded. He could hear the hum of generators switching lines.

“What do you want to do today?” Lexicon said suddenly.

“Let me think,” Paradox said, stretching the servos in his back. He was reluctant to stand up yet. “I’ve got that new scout rifle. Might as well keep testing it out down in the Cosmodrome...or the Moon, for that matter.”

Lex chirruped disapprovingly. “I don’t think Kirran would like you going to Luna alone.”

“Yeah, well.” Paradox rose, dusting off his robes. “What he doesn’t know-”

Just then, a jumpship’s engine roared in his ears. Wind buffeted the balcony as it rose to drift across from him, turbines spinning. It was a craft he didn’t recognize, but its cockpit was open and he could see a familiar face.

“Get in, loser!” grinned Antonia. “We’re going to the Crucible.”

Paradox stared blankly, his eyes narrowing at the unwelcome spike in volume at this hour. He grunted to himself before brushing his robes off once more of the new layer of dust the jumpship had blown onto him.

“Not interested,” he replied bluntly, before turning to go.

“Oh, no you don’t, newbie!” she said, swinging one foot out onto the hull. “We’re already queued up for a match. Let’s go, go, go!”

Paradox looked over his shoulder. “I _said,_ I’m not interested. Find someone else.”

Antonia pushed off with her foot, flipping into the air and rolling to her feet in front of Paradox, blocking his path. “Alright, kid, how about you try and get past me, then?” She grinned, showing off a pointed canine.

Lexicon transmaterialized, his apprehension settling in Paradox’s stomach like a hot coal.

The Exo ignored it, in favor of sizing up his opponent.

_Looks maybe five foot six, but she’s clearly more dangerous than she appears. Unarmed, though, and her Ghost’s nowhere in sight. Plus, she’s on a deadline and I’m not. All I have to do is get past her, and there’s a limit to how far she can chase me._

Within seconds, he’d formulated a plan.

“Fine,” he said, and lunged.

It was a timed strike - not the Warlock palm he supposed she’d be expecting, but a low hook, meant to catch her off balance and send her over the handrail. To be honest, he was modeling after what he’d seen Kirran do.

What actually happened was hard to place. One minute Antonia was standing opposite him, full of openings, and the next she was still _there_ but more to the side and her elbow sort of twisted around his arm. Effectively, he missed, and when he tried to backpedal, he tripped over her ankle.

His back hit the tiles of the balcony and stole the air from his respirators. Sunlight glared off the Traveler’s shell.

As he gasped for air, Antonia stood over him, her arms crossed. Her grin never left her face.

“Seems to me,” she said. “You could stand to learn a thing or two about fighting other Guardians.”

“How’d you do that?” Paradox managed.

Antonia extended her hand. “Crucible. Kirran’s waiting. We’re on in two minutes. Come or don’t, but if you don’t, be forever branded a wet blanket and also miss out on learning a really cool judo throw from yours truly. Your choice.”

On one hand, Paradox knew there would never be any circumstances under which he’d have to fight another Guardian. He also knew that the Crucible was a far cry from his preferred hunting ground. Crowds, spectators, _teamwork_. And frankly he wasn’t fond of the Hunter’s attitude. She was a showboat and a braggart. He couldn’t stand either of those things.

But her face was _seriously_ pissing him off.

“One round. We win, you never invite me back. We lose, I never set foot in there again,” he stated plainly.

Antonia laughed. “That’s cute. You play the odds like someone who’s only _read_ about gambling.” She withdrew her hand and clambered up onto the rail. “Two minutes. Don’t be late.” And with that, she fell backward over the side, transmatting as she cleared the balcony. Her jumpship pulled away, blasting Paradox with its air intake once again.

He sighed. Best get this over with so she would leave him alone. “Lex, bring the ship around and slave the nav computer to her course.”

“Already done,” Lexicon said. Then, after a beat. “Well, you _wanted_ to test out your new rifle.”

 

**Floating Gardens, Pomona Mons, Venus**

Kirran was waiting patiently (read: pacing) when Antonia’s jumpship set down, with Paradox not far behind. The Hunter had promised she’d convince him to group up, and it looked for the moment like she had delivered. Not that he’d doubted her, per se, but with only a few seconds to spare, he had been weighing his options facing this match alone. The Crucible waited for no one.

Of course, today was doubles, and that meant there were only going to be four of them on the field. For their fourth, Kirran had bit the bullet and called in a favor from a Hunter named Dedric.

With a flourish Kirran found uncharacteristic, Paradox transmaterialized directly in front of him. He did not seem pleased.

“If you had anything to do with dragging me into this…” Paradox grumbled. The gravel of the synthetic voice actually made it sound intimidating, even if the Warlock’s height lessened the effect considerably.

“Can it, crybaby,” Antonia taunted as she approached. “Nobody did any dragging, you’re here of your own free will.”

Paradox turned and seemed to prepare to say something, but merely shook his head and remained silent as Antonia joined them.

“Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you?” Kirran chastised.

“Relax. I made it, didn’t I? Nothing left to do but start,” Antonia countered.

Paradox, despite not having a throat that required clearing, cleared his throat. “Are either of you going to explain to me how all of this works? Or am I just going to aim and fire until someone tells me to stop?”

The veteran Guardians looked at each other. Neither had considered the idea of someone, even a rookie, being utterly ignorant of how Crucible matches worked.

“If you don’t know your objective,” said an unfamiliar voice. “All you’re doing is wasting bullets.”

Paradox turned to see a massive, barrel-chested Titan, towering over even Kirran, standing a few feet away. His armor was white and orange, with furred shoulders and vikingesque horns - no, _horn,_ singular - atop the helmet.

“Lord Shaxx,” said Kirran respectfully, thumping his chestplate in a Titan salute.

Shaxx nodded. “Titan Lee. Heard you were bringing in a rookie.”

Antonia jerked her thumb at Paradox. “Right here. Hi, Shaxx.”

“Back for more, Toni?” chuckled Shaxx. “Delightful.” He plodded past them both and gave Paradox a once-over. “So you’re the kinder with the big mouth. Guess you can back it up.”

The raw energy coming off this man was like nothing Paradox had ever felt, but he wasn’t about to let himself be intimidated. He stood his ground. “I didn’t start anything with anyone. I would simply rather take the fight to our enemies.”

Shaxx grunted. “You think you can fight Fallen without training?”

“Did a fine job of it so far,” said Paradox.

“They’ll put your head on a spike,” the Titan enunciated. “And it’s not just them. There are forces out there that have turned us against our own. If you want to have free run of your patrols, I suggest you prove you’re as good at changing mags as you are at flipping pages.”

Paradox stared into the expressionless helmet as - wordlessly - he had Lexicon materialize his new scout rifle into his hands, then, with practiced precision, put a fresh magazine into it.

“I practice reloading while Lexicon reads to me,” he said dryly. “What’s my objective,

sir?”

“This,” said Shaxx, unfazed. “Is Doubles. You’re in teams of two. Fight to the third resurrection and _stay together._ Or is that too much _team_ work for you?”

“Yes, yes sir, it is,” Paradox quipped immediately and reflexively. Antonia snorted while Kirran froze up.

“ _Good_ ,” Shaxx replied with finality, turning swiftly and with incredible grace and vigor. Paradox immediately relaxed his muscles as soon as he realized how tense he had gotten. He even already felt aches in his shoulders from how much he was tensing up. He refused to back down but frankly Shaxx shook him to his core, and he had no idea how he held up as long as he did.

Well, he had one idea. It was one of the first entries in his journal.

 _Spiteful in extremis_.

“All right, I gotta meet my teammate. I’ll see you down my sights, boys.” Antonia winked and took off, weaving behind cover and vanishing in that Hunter way of hers.

Kirran turned to Paradox. “Before we start, I need to know if I can count on you.”

“Relax, I’ll play along, okay?” Paradox shouldered his rifle. “We should take up positions before they get here.”

“Absolutely not.” Kirran caught his arm. “If we stay in one place too long, we’re dead. Our best bet is drawing them into close quarters.”

 _First thing I dislike about teamwork,_ Paradox thought ruefully. _Planning takes too long._ “Why not let them come to us and pick them off?”

Kirran released him, but waved him on, starting toward the arena’s entrance. “Trust me. I know Hunters. And I know _these_ Hunters. I can carry you through this match, but they won’t be messing around. We gotta cooperate.”

Grumbling, Paradox set off after him, passing into the Hanging Gardens. He’d never been to Venus, and the lush foliage was a far cry from the taiga scrub he’d seen in the Cosmodrome. Likewise the architecture - modular and geometric, with all sorts of white lines and dots that glowed with energy. There were statues that appeared to be some sort of robot or golem that appeared on plinths every now and then, but for the most part, it was just tight corners and long sight lines.

He was making a mental note to have Lex run a few archive queries when Kirran slapped him in the chest, pushing him back and against a wall. The Titan followed a second later, diving at his feet as two bullets kicked up dust in the space where they’d been standing.

“Damn it, they found us.” Kirran got to his feet, a long-barreled pulse rifle clutched in his hands. “Other way. I’ll move up; check those corners and cover my ass. If I go down, kite them until it’s safe to double back and rez me.” He raced off down a narrow corridor and disappeared.

Paradox looked in the direction he’d gone, and then at the scorch marks in the sand. Who had fired, and were they still there? Would Kirran have a better chance if he got rid of them now instead of skulking around waiting for another ambush?

He didn’t have to mull it over long. Feathering the trigger, he inched around the corner, crouched low to make himself as small a target as possible. Judging by the angle of the scattered topsoil, the shooter was two, maybe three stories abov-

_Crack._

Something sliced past him, shredding his helmet’s cheek guard. Steamy jungle air seeped in, clouding his visor.

_Crack._

Paradox cursed internally and threw himself back into cover, landing hard on his side. Well, now he knew where at least one of them was. The question remained: was this Antonia or a stranger? He hoped it was the former. She would be (in theory) more predictable.

Somewhere in the arena, arc Light discharged, thrumming in the air. Apparently, Kirran had engaged one or both of the enemy.

Try the corner again or move?

Maybe Kirran had flushed the sniper out. In any case, this was a good vantage point. Paradox was loath to abandon it.

He braced himself and rounded the corner in one swift move, confident that this time he would at least get a shot off before his rival retaliated.

Nothing. No scope glare, no hail of bullets. Evidently, he was now alone.

_Perfect. Now I can get the lay of the land, and if Kirran would just retreat, I can take them out as they give chase._

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, something entered his skullcase and sheared out the other side.

Paradox-9 fell.

“Guardian down,” said Tiresias.

Kirran dodged behind a statue and reloaded, whipping his head around for any sign of Lexicon. “Blasted hard-scoping son of a bitch,” he spat.

The rhythmic clatter of assault weapons fire began again, and a pile of lead ricocheted off the feet of the statue. Kirran took off running, found another wall, and came out shooting. His pulse rifle stuttered as he tracked the Hunter in his ironsights. At this point, he was fairly sure it was Antonia, which meant Dedric was probably camping on Paradox’s body.

_Just great._

He had to resurrect his teammate before he wound up dead himself. Which meant distracting Antonia and killing Dedric.

Kirran glanced back at the statue.

Antonia was debating how to play with Kirran a bit more - should she pop her stealth tech and finish this with knives, or pin him with a Shadowshot, or run him into a Voidwall grenade, or… - when a shriek of metal made her flinch.

She peeked out of cover to see the giant Vex Minotaur statue tipping off its pedestal.

On the other side, Kirran had his feet on the outer wall and was pushing on the statue with his hips and back, edging it slowly off balance. He was like a sitting duck.

Of course, before she could draw a bead, the statue fell - and it was heading straight for her.

 _Shit!_ Antonia dove and rolled to the side, narrowly escaping death by classical art. She was about to vault over it and take Kirran by surprise when something jerked her back by the collar.

Her cloak was caught under the statue.

“I knew you should’ve taken a shorter cut,” said Leto.

“My cloak gets caught one! Time!” Antonia growled, tugging on the rebellious fabric. “And - suddenly! It’s too - long? Give - me - a break!”

With an uncomfortable _ripping_ sound that would have been heartbreaking if she weren’t so pissed off, the cloak came free. Antonia wheeled around -

To stare right down the barrel of Kirran’s rifle.

“Sorry,” he said, and put six rounds in her head.

She didn’t feel a thing.

Kirran tried not to look at her body as it fell. Leto popped out, gathering Light to rez her with as he walked away.

Now for Dedric.

Surprisingly, the Hunter didn’t show himself as Kirran retraced his steps back to Paradox’s last known position. Kirran kept his guard up, but eventually he made it to Lexicon without incident and had to conclude that Dedric must have rushed back to revive Antonia.

He reached out to Lexicon. “Here you go, little guy.”

Light bounced off Light, and Paradox bolted to his feet, gasping for breath.

“What the hell hit me?” he managed, sounding a little shaken.

“My guess is a throwing knife.” Kirran squatted to pick up his scout rifle, then handed it over. “Antonia’s down, but Dedric’s still out there. If we lost track of him, she could come back, but then we’ll both be down a rez - ulgjdfhiabf!”

A spray of blood hit the wall as Kirran took a bullet to the throat.

Paradox stumbled back, searching for the threat. He saw nothing, and if he went too far out of cover…

Kirran, struggling to raise a bloody hand cannon, fired three shots. Someone’s personal shields discharged, and then another bullet carried his head into the wall. Tiresias appeared, clicking nervously.

 _Now!_ Paradox swiveled around the corner and took aim. This time, he had the sniper dead to rights - and in the middle of a reload, no less.

 _Pop!_ was all it took, and he was down. _They’ll never doubt my aim, at least_ , he reasoned.

He looked over to Tiresias, who gazed back at him vacantly, not presuming to tell the Guardian what to do. If the sniper had gotten back in action, Paradox realized, then Antonia likely had been resurrected. Which meant that she was either moving to resurrect her partner, or finish off the job. He could either go on the offensive and hunt her before she achieved either objective, or stay on the defensive and risk being caught off guard. It seemed to be their specialty.

Paradox shook his head. What was he doing? This was playing by _their_ rules. Spectacle and glory. He needed to get tactical, unpredictable. He thought quickly, and Plan A and Plan B came to him. Neither were very good. He didn’t have time to care.He reached out and brushed his fingers near Tiresias, and with a flash, Kirran was breathing again.

“On your feet, Lee,” he snapped, before transmatting his scout rifle out of his hand, replacing it with a sniper rifle. “The sniper is down but not for long. I’ll cover you, get down there and meet your girlfriend before she rezzes him. I’ll hunt her long, you hunt her close.”

“You’ll be wide open if she comes for you,” he pointed out.

“And it’ll be 2 on 2 again soon if she doesn’t,” Paradox countered. “Move!”

Kirran shook his head and made his way down, not willing to argue any further. It was… an acceptable plan, for the circumstances.

Paradox sighted down the scope, but kept as much an eye on his motion tracker. It only took a few seconds before he saw a blip. _So it’s Plan B, then_ , he thought. He took a deep breath and timed it out just as he planned.

His sniper dematerialized, like he was switching guns. Which he was.

Antonia walking in. Witty one-liner he didn’t pay attention to.

Three shots from a hand cannon until his shields were down.

She rushed up for the kill.

Just as her knife came up to level with his neck, he transmaterialized his hand cannon into his hand, and just as it finished solidifying in his grip, he whipped it up. The freshly materialized gun just barely managed to parry away the blade before it cut into his neck. He shoved his palm out and felt the Light course through it, pumping sheer kinetic force into Antonia’s midsection, knocking her back. All the same, she wasn’t pushed back nearly as far as he had wanted - she was too quick to ground herself.

He breathed in good and deep as he leveled his sights right onto her head.

By the time his sights were drawn, though, she was pulling the trigger.

 _Bang._ Right between his eyes.

In the suspended world of death, he processed what just happened. He knew he had pulled the trigger. Heard two bangs. Why didn’t she go down? The bare ugly truth came to him in a flash.

He missed.

Not only was he slower - she was a better shot than him.

Anger welled up in him. Anger, frustration, indignity. But it was different. He had only been dead twice before - on Luna and just a bit before in the Crucible - but now he had time to ruminate on what he was feeling. And how… real it felt. How immediate, physical, part of him. It was like the anger was a biological aspect of himself, as much as anything can be biological when one is dead.

He resolved to investigate this further. In his own time.

“Guardian down,” said Tiresias, for the second time. “That’s our last rez.”

“I _know,”_ Kirran said through gritted teeth. He vaulted over a stone block and ran between two pillars, auto rifle fire chasing his footfalls.

Apparently, Dedric had switched to medium-range.

“End of the line, Lee!” the Hunter called.

Kirran wheeled around, Light pulsing in his hand. He lobbed a grenade just as Dedric fired.

Bullets and lightning bolt soared to their targets. Kirran was probably going to be hit, but at least he would take Dedric with him.

Or so he thought, until Antonia appeared in the air above Dedric, black holes rippling between her fingers with a purple glow. She nocked an arrow in her bow and let fly.

The Shadowshot met Kirran’s grenade and pinned it to the ground.

The first round entered his head just to the right of his nose. Even with an autorifle, Dedric’s grouping was superb.

Kirran’s body fell.

Antonia landed on the balls of her feet and rolled, springing up next to Dedric. “Nice shots.”

“Right back at you, partner,” he said, offering his hand for a fist bump.

She smacked her gauntlet into his. “Good to work with you. I’ll see you around?”

“Hey, actually,” said Dedric. “Drinks after this?”

Antonia blinked, then grinned awkwardly, wincing. “Sorry. I expect to be tied up later.” She gave Tiresias a sidelong look. “Speaking of which, I’d better go collect my boys.”

“No problem,” Dedric assured her. “If you guys put together a raid team anytime soon, just give me a call.”

“Cool. Sure thing.” Antonia waved over her shoulder. “See ya.”

She walked over and waved her hand by Tiresias, bringing a flash of Light out of the Ghost, followed by Kirran’s gasping. She offered a hand to help the Titan up.

“Nice shot,” he complimented.

“Nice arm,” she complimented back. “If it were anyone but me you might’ve had us.”

Kirran looked over past Antonia, and waved. Antonia looked back and saw Paradox walking towards them, looking displeased.

“Hey, kinder,” she greeted. “Not a bad go at it, for a first-timer.”

“We had a deal,” he grumbled. “I lost. You don’t ask me back.”

Antonia sighed and crossed her arms. She had hoped a good bout would’ve gotten the Warlock hooked, but maybe his ego was too fragile to take a loss. If that was the case she didn’t want to waste her time - and even if not, she wasn’t going to try dragging him to the Crucible. If he wanted to go soft picking off Vandals and Dregs she couldn’t stop him.

“Paradox, come on, it’s obvious you could use practice,” Kirran said. Antonia hid a cringe - he really was bad at this.

“You don’t ask me back,” Paradox reiterated. “That was the deal.”

“Don’t worry, kinder, I’m not gonna wrangle you,” she said, preparing to go.

“I am going to return,” Paradox clarified. “However many times I have to.”

Kirran and Antonia glanced at each other, then stared at Paradox.

“Why the change in heart?” Kirran asked. Antonia smiled.

“He wants to beat me,” she said.

“I don’t like being outdrawn,” Paradox stated. “And I certainly don’t like being outshot.”

Antonia snorted and cackled at that. He _did_ have something approaching a fighting spirit. “You really do belong in the Crucible,” she observed.

“Which cannot be said of you three presently,” Lord Shaxx’s voice boomed over the speakers. “Vacate the arena before the next match starts off with you three as target practice!”

Antonia laughed and started running off. “Meet me over in the Sink, I wanna take a walk while we’re here!”

Paradox began walking off, and Kirran followed, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Paradox, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“You certainly are talking,” Paradox remarked dryly.

“I just wanted to clarify, since you said something about it before, during the match,” Kirran said as they started to get out of the arena’s bounds. “Antonia and I, we’re, uh… we’re _just_ friends. You called her my ‘girlfriend’ back there and I just wanted you to know-”

Kirran didn’t get to finish his sentence, though; he was given pause by the deadpan stare Paradox gave him. Before he could ask what the look was for, Paradox transmaterialized away, and his ship took off. Kirran sighed and radioed him.

“Are you at least meeting us at the Sink?” Kirran asked.

“I’ll think about it,” Paradox replied, before closing the channel and zipping off and away.

Antonia radioed him herself a moment later. “Welp, we got one.”

Kirran sighed. “You think so?”

“I _know_ so,” she confirmed. “If there’s any way to get to a Warlock, it’s pride. _Aphorisms to Anger Warlocks,_ Chapter Three.”

“Yeah, well, pride comes before a fall,” he said. “I don’t want him to fall too far.”

“Then keep an eye on him,” said Antonia. “But don’t hover.”

Kirran sighed and transmaterialized, settling into the cockpit of his ship. “I don’t exactly - I don’t exactly know how to _do_ that. Where’s the medium?”

“Well,” Antonia mused. “It’s a good thing you have me, then.”

“...Yeah,” said Kirran. “Yeah, it is.”


	5. Time-Traveling Milk (Inside a Robot)

**Outer Orbit, Venus**

“Are you sure you don’t want to join Antonia and Kirran?” Lexicon asked. “It’d be a chance to explore Venus.”

“It’d be a chance to be hounded at on Venus,” Paradox grumbled in the cockpit of his jumpship. “I’m not interested in the company.”

“Is the company not worth the experience?” Lexicon inquired. Paradox answered with an impatient grunt.

“Kirran is condescending and patronizing. Antonia is cocky and egotistic,” Paradox stated. “I’d rather experience Venus without those burdens.”

“You are arriving at premature conclusions,” Lexicon pointed out. “Your data is limited, your sample sizes are too small, and your experimental variety is bland, to say the least.”

“What are you saying, exactly, Lexicon?” Paradox asked, glaring at the Ghost.

“You’re being a poor scientist in immediately rejecting Antonia and Kirran,” Lexicon clarified. “And a poor sport in doing so after losing in the Crucible. And a poor social creature in doing so despite your stark lack of relations. And a poor Guardian in letting your conceptions get in the way of doing work for the City on Venus.”

“That is an _extremely_ uncharitable analysis,” Paradox argued. “Besides, I have no reason to believe anyone on the City has any need for anything on Venus.”

“This is Lakshmi-2 to any Guardians near Venus,” Lexicon relayed, playing a transmission from the Exo Cultist. “The Future War Cult is in need of unique resources that we believe can be found among certain targets in the Ishtar Sink. Details transmitting with this message.”

Paradox rolled his eyes. “Lakshmi already has asked me for plenty from the Cosmodrome. She can find someone else.”

“This is Holliday - you know, the one that keeps your ships running? - need some supplies from around the Ishtar Sink area, details follow,” Lexicon went on.

“Just because I owe Holliday for repairing my Sparrow-”

“Guardians,” a familiar weak voice rasped from out of Lexicon, “Owl Sector is requesting scans of interesting readings in the Ishtar Sink on Venus. Payment is being offered.”

“Max?” Paradox asked, surprised to hear the researcher sending out patrol missions.

“There is plenty of work to be done,” Lexicon said. “You’d be remiss to avoid it, and also to avoid getting help with it.”

Paradox sighed, rubbing his metal faceplate as if he had temples.

“You want to learn more about who you are,” Lexicon said. “Only experimentation and experience can do that. There is no such thing as experimenting too many times.”

Paradox wordlessly turned the ship around, and plotted a course for the Ishtar Sink.

 

**Ishtar Sink, Venus**

Water splashed up onto Kirran’s boots, disturbing the bioluminescent algae on its surface. Without cover from the jungle, the sun beat down on Venus’s subvolcanic rock formations and flared the lenses of his helmet.

Antonia was prone on a sizaeable escarpment above him, propping up her sniper rifle to sight ahead. It was always odd to see her motionless, but her discipline was absolute.

Kirran stepped over her legs and crouched just behind her. “What’s on the menu?”

“Looks like House Winter’s got a bolt-hole in the Ember Caves,” she said, adjusting her scope. “No clue how deep it goes. Could be hiding a stash of glimmer or a whole Ketch for all we know.”

“Huh.” He turned to look ar her. “Wanna find out?”

Before Antonia could answer, Kirran’s radio blared.

“Kirran Lee,” said a familiar voice. “Kirran, is that you? I swear, if you’ve muted your comms...”

“Paradox?” Kirran rolled over and slid down the rocky slope, shooting Antonia a thumbs-up and waving her down. “So you _did_ come to Venus!”

“Yes, and I would like it very much if someone explained to me why I don’t have radar or my Sparrow,” growled the Exo.

Tiresias summoned Kirran’s own bike and he mounted up. “What’s you position?”

“I’m looking at a statue of a woman holding a torch, some kind of campus center.”

“Stay put. We’re coming to you now.” Kirran glanced back to see Antonia straddling her Sparrow, ready to go.

“I told you he would bite,” she said, and gunned it.

“Yeah, but is he hooked?” Kirran wondered as they blasted off at top speed.

“You think he’s gonna be able to walk away once he gets one look at the Vex?” Antonia joked.

“This is Lexicon to Kirran and Antonia,” the emotionless Ghost’s voice rang over the comms. “Requesting urgent backup.”

“Urgent backup?” Kirran repeated. “What’s happening? Are you under attack?”

“Yes,” Lexicon reported. “I urged Paradox to call it in himself but he only said something about not having enough time to explain.”

“What, he can’t take care of himself?” Antonia asked, confused by the request.

“He thinks he can,” Lexicon said. “However, these targets are not slowed by his usual tactics.”

“Usual tactics?” Antonia echoed.

“Headshots,” Kirran noted. “Is he pinned by the fucking Vex?”

“I believe that is the case,” Lexicon reported. “And judging by the strange photonic phenomena occuring a few yards away, enemy reinforcements are en route. Please hurry.”

Kirran looked at Antonia as they maneuvered on their Sparrows. “Guess he really _can’t_ walk away after meeting the Vex.”

They pulled up by the statue and dismounted. There was no sign of Paradox or the Vex.

“Leto, run a scan on the Vex tracker,” Antonia said.

Without missing a beat, Leto replied, “Got a noticeable concentration around a Guardian transponder. Marking it on your HUD.”

A white diamond appeared up ahead, floating in the wide doorway of one of the abandoned campus buildings.

“He went _inside?_ ” said Kirran, in disbelief. “I told him to stay put!”

Antonia snorted. “Yeah, ‘cause that always works.” She primed a shotgun shell. “Come on, I wanna go in loud. Show the kid how it’s done.”

“...Right,” Kirran said, and swung off his bike. His new auto rifle needed broken in anyhow.

In the minute and a half it took them to hoof it inside, Paradox was running out of options.

He crouched behind a pillar, between a bookshelf and a decorative vase stand, changing magazines with fluid precision. The Vex hadn’t seemed like much from the reading he’d done, but their time travel abilities - which included _teleporting_ and _unlimited reinforcements_ \- were clearly nothing to sneeze at.

Case in point, all the Goblins warping around cover and forcing him to retreat before they overtook his scope.

Another red bolt of Solar energy hissed off the pillar, and he ducked, firing wildly over his shoulder and dive-rolling down a set of stairs. “Ow. Ow. Ow.”

Deposited on his ass, he brought his rifle up and blew the head off another Goblin that got too close.

It kept shooting. Again.

Paradox wound his jaw tight and landed three body shots. The bronze automaton finally fell, but two more appeared in a flash of blue light to take its place.

He scrambled to his feet and lobbed a grenade, then booked it for more cover. Problem was, he was running out of room. Sooner or later, the Vex would have him up against the wall. Unlike their reserve of troops, it seemed, this academic hall of sorts didn’t go on forever.

“Detecting more activity from that conflux,” Lexicon said. “I think we made them mad.”

“ _We_ made _them_ mad?” Paradox said incredulously. “They shot first! I just wanted some scans.”

Of the conflux. Naturally. Which was the geometric tangle that sat glowing in the middle of the room.

Lexicon clicked. “Kirran and Antonia are on their way.”

“I didn’t _ask_ them to -” Paradox blinked. “Lex!”

Another streak of red passed within a hairsbreadth of his shoulder. He cursed and vaulted over an urn, which crumbled beneath his weight and collapsed him into a pile of ashes. Coughing, he somersaulted backward, standing up just in time to spot a new type of Vex take aim from the upper level of the hall. This one had a tail and a V-shaped head, like horns or ears.

Paradox sighted and prepared to fire. He deserved to be quicker on the draw than _something_ today.

As soon as he squeezed the trigger, the Hobgoblin fired back, and pain erupted in his right hand. An orange glow engulfed the unfamiliar Vex chassis, and his fatal shot ricocheted off it like some kind of ray shield.

The glow faded and the Hobgoblin charged another shot.

“Nope,” said Paradox. He ran around a corner, then looked down at his hand. It was busted open and shooting sparks.

“Let me heal that,” said Lex.

Paradox tried to flex it. “Don’t come out till I’ve taken care of that sniper.”

“How do you intend to do that without a trigger finger?”

In answer, Paradox lit a Nova Bomb in his left hand.

“Oh,” Lex deadpanned. “And how do you intend to make it across the room to _use_ that?”

“I’ll think of something,” said Paradox. “ _Don’t_ come out.”

And he breached the corner.

He came out low, hoping to confuse the Hobgoblin’s targeting matrix. It worked, technically, as its first shot missed. However, there was also a crowd of Goblins in front of him, who had presumably warped in while he wasn’t looking.

Great.

Paradox _wanted_ to keep his Nova Bomb for the others, but necessity outweighed preference in this case. He let loose, blasting the Goblins to voidy bits. It was satisfying, but now he’d effectively disarmed himself. He should have brought a sidearm like Kirran’s.

As the Hobgoblin drew a bead on him again, Paradox prepared to dodge, but then the telltale static fuzz of _more_ Vex reached his audio receptors - from behind that blind corner, no less.

“Is it too much to ask that you all back off and let me _think?_ ” he shouted, on the verge of losing his temper.

The Hobgoblin fired.

Paradox hit the ground, the red beam scything over his face.

Before he could recover, a massive, broad-shouldered Vex warped out in front of him and raised its slap rifle to bludgeon him down. He flung out his palm in a warding strike, but the Minotaur didn’t flinch. Instead, there was a flicker of personal shields.

The rifle came down, pulverizing the floor tiles beneath it. Paradox had rolled out of the way. Once again, he didn’t make it to his feet in time.

 _Another_ Minotaur appeared, purple light gathering at the barrel of its weapon.

The Hobgoblin fired again.

“Forget it, I’m healing you right now!” Lexicon transmaterialized, weaved around the incoming fire, and bathed Paradox in a beam of Light.

“What are you doing?” Paradox grabbed him out of the air and pulled him to his chest, rolling over into the foetal position to cover his Ghost.

At least one of the Minotaurs was right next to him. He heard its shields humming, the metallic roar as it lifted its arm to strike.

As long as they didn’t get Lex. He could resurrect while using his body as a shield, and then his hand would work properly and he could -

There was an explosion.

Something collided with the Minotaur at supersonic speed. Its clawed feet shrieked along the floor as it was pushed across the hall, up the stairs, and finally slammed into the conflux.

A concentrated ball of Titan and fieldplate unrolled itself, leveled a sidearm at the Minotaur’s abdomen, and fired. There was a burst of white liquid, and the machine went dead.

Kirran then took aim at the Hobgoblin, which fired at him, but missed, instead diffusing off the conflux. He laid down suppressive fire as Antonia leapfrogged over Paradox.

Antonia threw a flaming knife at the second Minotaur, knocking out its shields. She slid under its flailing swipe and, when it turned around, leveled her shotgun at the same spot. There was another blast, and something milky splattered Paradox’s coat.

He looked up.

“Aim for the juicebox, kid,” Antonia said, and pumped her shotgun.

Lexicon wobbled into the air. “Took you two long enough.”

“I _told_ you to stay put!” Kirran shot back from across the room.

“That’s fair,” Lex said, and resumed healing Paradox.

As his hand reordered itself, Paradox got up and saw that Antonia was rounding the corner, her shotgun’s muzzle flash lighting up the walls. Kirran had shot the head off the Hobgoblin - the glowing field appeared, but sputtered, and then he delivered the coup de grace to its...milk...chamber.

Huh.

“They’re just milk?” Paradox said. He shook his head. Must have knocked a circuit loose if that was his priority right now.

Another blue cloud was gathering at the base of the conflux. Kirran had his back to it, casting his eyes around for more Hobgoblins.

“Lee! Behind you!” Paradox summoned his rifle, tested the grip of his newly minted hand, and feathered the trigger in preparation for more Vex.

Just as Kirran turned, a giant, snakelike Vex appeared behind him, encircled by rotating barrier shields. His eyes widened, and he was blasted across the hall, crashing through a bookshelf.

“Hydra,” he managed, a shock of pain lancing up his ribs. “Got a Hydra, here.”

Antonia sped around the corner. “Relax, I’ve got it.” She had exchanged her shotgun for a hand cannon, which she stabbed into the air, fire racing down her arm. Three rays of Solar Light pierced the Hydra’s shields, punching fist-sized holes in its armored vertebrae.

The Hydra let out a metallic wail and washed blue, teleporting away.

“Whoops,” Antonia said. “Guess I don’t. Wonder where it went to hide?”

Kirran emerged from the wrecked bookshelf. “Got a better question.” He marched up to Paradox. “You. In the archives. Why?”

Paradox lowered his rifle contemptuously. “I was just getting some scans. If you had just _told_ me how to get radar working instead of making me wait, I wouldn’t have been caught.” He paused. “Wait, archives?”

“Listen-” Kirran began, but Antonia cut him off.

“You need special equipment to track the Vex,” she said. “It’s at the vehicle grid. Which we were _going_ to go to together, so that way you wouldn’t get jumped by time-traveling robots on the way.”

“Milk,” Paradox said. “Time-traveling milk.”

“Milk that’s inside a _robot,_ ” Antonia said. “Keep up. Anyway, I hate to win the argument like this, but you almost got killed by that milk, so cut the crap. Take your scans, and we’ll go get your radar and bike up and running.”

Paradox seethed. “Fine. Lex?”

“On it.” Lexicon hovered around the conflux, which was none the worse for wear despite the number of shots it had taken.

“You said archives.” Paradox rounded on Kirran. “Is _this_ an archive?”

Kirran sighed. “We’d better tell him.”

“ _You_ spoiled the surprise,” Antonia said pointedly, before turning to Paradox. “Welcome to the Ishtar Academy. Property of the Ishtar Collective, and home to all Golden Age research that wasn’t done by Clovis Bray. Which has a Venus chapter two blocks away.” She spread her arms. “Well?”

Paradox stared at her.

“There’s a lot of science-y stuff here,” she said. “Power just came back online recently, so the systems can be cracked. We could open a lot of doors.”

Paradox kept staring.

“Probably a lot of Golden Age tech,” Antonia cooed. “Maybe even a cool gun. Or three.”

Kirran tapped her on the shoulder. “I think he’s asleep.”

“Of course he’s not! Did you ever meet a narcoleptic Exo?”

“I’ve never met a Warlock who wouldn’t be tap dancing by now. Look, you can’t be right three times in one day. I think he just needs some time alone.”

Paradox raised his voice. “ _Guys._ ”

Their heads snapped toward him. “ _What?_ ”

“You had me at ‘archives’,” he said. “I’m just waiting for you to lead the way.”

Antonia elbowed Kirran in the stomach. “Oh, look, I _was_ right three times in one day.”

“Scans completed,” Lexicon said.

“Go ahead and send them in to Max,” Paradox said. “And patch him through for me. I want to let him know where I am.”

“Er… Researcher Redblood is occupied,” Lexicon said. “We can try again later.”

Paradox raised an eyebrow, but merely shrugged. “Alright, then,” he said, turning back to his comrades. “I’m done here. Where to now?”

“Right this way,” Antonia said, leading them out of the building. “Link-up station isn’t that far from here. Quick walk over, if we’re brisk.”

“Probably going to be some Fallen on the way,” Kirran noted. “House Winter butts heads with the Vex often for this territory.”

“Good salvage here, makes sense,” Paradox noted. “For the Winters, anyway. Can’t imagine why the Vex care about this area.”

“They like it, that’s for sure,” Antonia stated. “So...who’s this _Max_ guy?”

“Researcher Redblood,” Paradox corrected. “He’s a colleague of mine. A contact in Owl Sector.”

“Owl Sector, makes sense you’d find friends there,” Kirran noted.

“We’re just colleagues,” Paradox affirmed.

“Is that why you call him by his first name and send him scans of Vex confluxes?” Antonia quipped. “Pretty tight colleagues.”

“Just. Colleagues,” Paradox grumbled, before noticing a small group of Winters down the way. He took aim and popped the skull off a Vandal before leaping up and lobbing a Scatter Grenade down at the Dregs, shredding them. He knocked the head off of the last surviving Vandal with a palm strike before waiting on the other two to join him.

“Trying to impress us?” Kirran asked dryly, not appreciating what seemed to be showboating.

“Trying to change the subject more like,” Antonia giggled. Paradox glared at her. She only laughed some more. “Come on, link-up is just in that overlook there.”

As she said that, a Fallen ship rocketed overhead, making its way in the opposite direction - the direction they had just come from.

“Fallen heading for the Academy,” Paradox observed. “I wonder if they heard about our fight. Might make a push while the Vex are weak there.”

“Pretty generous to ever say the Vex are weak anywhere,” Kirran noted. “We’ll check it out once we get your tech running.”

“Tech, brawls, weird language and ugly guys… we just need booze and tunes and it’ll be the best party that campus has seen in centuries,” Antonia quipped.

Leto transmaterialied at her shoulder. “We’re hard up for booze, but tunes we’ve got. What’ll it be?”

“Just a sec.” She turned to Paradox. “All wrapped up back there?”

Lexicon chirruped matter-of-factly. “Vehicle grid uplink complete. Patching in Vex tracker...done.”

“We’re good to go,” Paradox said, summoning his Sparrow for emphasis.

Antonia grinned. “Cool. Let’s crack this sucker open.” She opened the throttle of her bike. “Leto, play ‘Come Out and Play’ by The Offspring.”

* * *

 

Prepiks the Vandal was picking through a wrecked car when he heard an unusual noise.

He was having a good day, mainly because his Ether rations had recently been increased, and soon he would grow large and powerful enough to challenge his squad leader for the rank of Captain. All he needed was to strike lucky once more - some good salvage, or perhaps a trophy. He’d gotten this far by presenting his Kell with dead Ghosts.

As part of the teams diverted to loot the previously inaccessible Ishtar Academy, he had practically been handed sure success. Yes, today was a good day. Maybe he’d bag a fatally curious Ghost yet again.

So, when he heard a rapidly approaching, alien buzz, he first thought that the Vex had arrived for the express purpose of ruining his good day. It wasn’t unlike the shrieks and groans they made as they called for blood.

However, once it got closer, he realized it wasn’t just _noise._ It was _instrumentals._ And _words._

It was _music_ \- and, with horror, he realized it was _Guardian_ music.

“E Zer as den kas kir!” he howled to his squad, and fumbled for his wire rifle as the music grew _still_ louder.

His fellow Vandals, along with the Dregs of their number, shot upright, alert and armed, while their Captain shouldered through the line to scan the horizon.

In an instant, everything was chaos.

LIKE THE LATEST FASHION

Three Sparrows flew over a slope, catching air and momentarily blotting out the sun.

LIKE A SPREADING DISEASE

The Eliksni squinted into the sun and opened fire, Arc bolts seeking their fast-moving targets. Prepiks waited for a better bead.

THE KIDS ARE STRAPPIN’ ON THEIR WAY TO THE CLASSROOM, GETTIN’ WEAPONS WITH THE GREATEST OF EASE

The Sparrows dove, hitting the jungle floor - all three riderless. A hail of bullets came from above as Two of the Guardians glided down, spraying the Eliksni’s furthest ranks. Most of the Dregs fell right away.

THE GANGS STAKE THEIR OWN CAMPUS LOCALE, AND IF THEY CATCH YOU SLIPPIN’ THEN IT’S ALL OVER, PAL

Prepiks took aim at the airborne Guardian with the slighter build and fired. His wire rifle struck true, but deflected off an invisible shield.

IF ONE GUY’S COLORS AND THE OTHER’S DON’T MIX THEY’RE GONNA BASH IT UP, BASH IT UP, BASH IT UP, BASH IT UP

HEY!

The bigger Guardian took on a burst of momentum and soared over Prepiks, sliding to a stop on the road in front of his Captain.

MAN YOU TALKIN’ BACK TO ME?

With a growl, the Captain leapt forward with her shock blades.

TAKE HIM OUT

The Titan grabbed her wrists and twisted, tackling them both to the ground and rolling out of sight.

YOU GOTTA KEEP ‘EM SEPARATED.

HEY!

Two of Prepiks’ peers cried out in desperation as the third Guardian, armed with a knife, tore their Ether cords from their rebreathers.

MAN YOU DISRESPECTING ME?

Three dregs jumped her, shock daggers in a blur.

TAKE HIM OUT

YOU GOTTA KEEP ‘EM SEPARATED.

Prepiks forced himself to focus and aimed at the Guardian from before, who was making landfall, cruel purple energy flying from his fingers. This time he missed.

HEY, THEY DON’T PAY NO MIND, IF YOU’RE UNDER EIGHTEEN YOU WON’T BE DOING ANY TIME

The Warlock charged forward, spraying a trio of bursts from his rifle. Prepiks dodged, wriggling through the window of the wrecked car and out the other side.

HEY - COME OUT AND PLAY!

Prepiks popped up over the roof of the car, determined to make the next shot count. As soon as he pulled the trigger, the car flipped on its end, bidden by the Warlock’s outstretched palm.

BY THE TIME YOU HEAR THE SIREN

Dropping his rifle, Prepiks balled his four hands into fists and pushed past the car to pummel his foe. His first punch missed, but his second and third connected - the fourth went wide.

IT’S ALREADY TOO LATE

An alien foot swept his legs, and Prepiks found himself on the ground with a barrel at his chin.

ONE GOES TO THE MORGUE AND THE OTHER TO JAIL, ONE GUY’S WASTED AND THE OTHER’S A WASTE

The music stopped. So did Prepiks.

* * *

“That was fun,” Paradox admitted, dusting himself off and nabbing an engram off of the Vandal he just killed. “But I’ve got to say, Antonia, you surprise me. You didn’t strike me as someone who listened to classical music.”

“I’ve got eccentric tastes,” Antonia shrugged.

“So it seems,” Paradox noted.

“She likes the beats and shouting,” Kirran called out as he walked back over to the group.

Paradox looked at Kirran, then at Antonia, who merely shrugged.

“Well, if that’s the case,” Paradox started, “I’ve got some recommendations for you.”

Antonia laughed. “I’ve heard them all, kid,” she informed him.

“My name isn’t ‘kid’,” he reminded.

“Right, sorry, Dox,” she corrected herself, not wanting to cross a boundary.

“It’s Paradox,” he said.

“That’s what I said, Dox,” Antonia replied, recognizing he was lacking the same firmness in his tone. “Anyway, we don’t have all day. We should take a look around.”

“Lexicon,” Paradox called, his Ghost materializing next to him at its name. “Start downloading everything you can. Let’s start with personnel files.”

Kirran and Antonia stared at Dox. “Personnel?” Kirran asked. “Why not, I don’t know, weapons? Or history?”

“History is comprised of people,” Paradox said, following Lexicon over to an interface with the Academy’s virtual networks. “They deserved to be remembered in more places than a lost college campus.”

Something about the sincerity of his tone left the group in silence for a moment.

“You’re a pretty weird Warlock, Dox,” Antonia noted.

“You’re a pretty standard Hunter, Antonia,” Paradox replied.

“Dox…” Kirran warned.

“Just stating facts,” Paradox said, though his tone was apologetic. “Sorry. I’m… conversation doesn’t come easily to me.”

“Hey, no offense taken,” Antonia laughed. “Let’s dial down the serious here, folks. We’re standing in one of humanity’s greatest centers of learning and taking it back. It’s a good day, and there’s nothing around to rain on our parade right now!”

At that moment, though, a faint static could be heard, and several spots on the far side of the chamber darkened as blue lights began to glow.

“Think that’s the rain,” Kirran remarked.

“All personnel files acquired. Vex inbound,” Lexicon announced.

“Thank you, Lexicon,” Paradox sighed, plugging a fresh magazine into his scout rifle. “I’m getting really tired of these things.”

The three of them took cover as the milk machines came into existence and began letting their munitions fly free.

“Tactical retreat for right now?” Kirran called out over the gunfire.

“I’m thinking so!” Antonia called back, before stepping out for a second to throw a knife into a Goblin’s glowing white juice.

“No!” Lexicon shouted. “There are fragmented personnel records. They can only be defragged by accessing additional copies at other terminals.”

“I’m thinking we can hold off on finding out who was graduating cum laude,” Kirran argued, firing off a burst from his auto rifle into the mass of machinery.

“Kirran,” Paradox said, looking over at the Titan, his eyes desperate. “Please.”

Kirran looked over at Antonia, who sighed, knowing exactly what the both of them were thinking.

“Drinks on _you_ tonight, Dox!” Antonia shouted, before dashing out of cover and leaping across the room to take a higher position and sending bullets down into the Vex position as the Goblins advanced on the Guardians.

Paradox sighed and took a deep breath. He looked within himself for the power to draw out a Nova Bomb, but it just wasn’t there right now. He wasn’t in the right mood. He was, however, perfectly in a mood for a Shatter Grenade. As Kirran laid suppressing fire down and lightly shredded the Vex, holding them in place, Paradox launched himself into the air before lobbing a grenade - but he twitched at the last second, and the arc went foul, landing the grenade into the Vex flank, where it detonated with minimal effect. He landed on Kirran’s side, and took cover.

“Dox,” Kirran said, “don’t take this bad, but that was the shittiest grenade I’ve seen in a long time.”

“Shut up and do better,” Paradox snapped, materializing a fusion rifle into his hands before beginning to pump bolts of Arc light into the Vex.

“Will do!” Kirran said, snarling at the challenge the machines presented before looking up at Antonia. The two locked eyes, and he made a gesture, which she acknowledged. It’d been a while since they fought together, but it’s like riding a Sparrow.

He rushed out as Antonia yanked back on her Dusk Bow and let loose a torrent of Shadowshot, putting a miasma on the Vex as he approached them. He Lifted up until he was right on top of them, then felt his Light buck up within him. He was just planning on punching the fuck out of all of them, but apparently his dick ego wanted him to really let loose on the clanking pieces of shit.

He came crashing down to the ground and sent Arc energy pounding into the floor with his fist, sending several hundred pounds of Vex machinery flying out and crashing against the archive’s walls, heavily ionized by the power that hit them.

Paradox came out of cover as the shrieks of the Vex subsided.

“Show-offs,” he grumbled.

“I’ve located another terminal to access,” Lexicon reported innocently. “This way,” he said, materializing as if though they hadn’t just fought off a small company of Vex.

Paradox immediately followed him down the dark hallway.

“Yeah, sure,” Kirran said. “This is fine.”

Antonia was already walking after Paradox. “Come on! Light above, have some fun for once.”

“Can we at least get some music? The atmosphere in here is way too ominous.”

“Sure. Leto, play ‘Cherry Bomb’ by the Runaways.”

“Ooh, I love that one! Sure thing!” Leto said happily.

CAN’T STAY AT HOME, CAN’T STAY IN SCHOOL

OLD FOLKS SAY YOU’RE PULLING A FOOL


	6. Kirran Lee Throws Up

**Ishtar Academy, Venus**

In hindsight it seemed quite obvious to the three Guardians that playing oldies music was not the best choice when skulking around an abandoned facility filled with murderous milk machines. This became abundantly clear shortly after being ambushed by another group of Goblins, this time backed up with Hobgoblins.

“Do you think they heard the music?” Paradox asked, already behind cover.

“I think they heard the music,” Kirran answered, just before lobbing a grenade over to fry a group.

Antonia laughed. “Good, gives them something to dance to.” She twirled her hand cannon and flicked the chamber back into place, fanning the hammer. Three shots rang out, three sprays of radiolaria, three Goblins screeched their doom.

Kirran couldn’t be a grinch with her around. Still, he was getting impatient. This room didn’t have working lights, so they were surrounded by pitch blackness and glowing red eyes. “Is one of the terminals in here?”

“The next one should be in section one fifty-seven,” said Paradox, peeking out to take a potshot at a Hobgoblin.

“What section are we in now?”

“Um…” Paradox looked around for a numeric decal on the wall. Of course, it was too dark to see. “Lex?”

“Section two,” Lexicon said.

“Great!” Kirran exclaimed. “We’ve just got to fight through a hundred and fifty-five  _ fucking _ rooms!”

“Maybe not,” said Antonia. “Leto says that access tunnel cuts right through the facility.” She dodged past a sizzling line rifle bolt and gestured to a nearby wall, one with a (relatively) visible blast door.

“Only downside is, it has the biggest projected concentration of Vex in this facility,” Leto added cheerfully.

“So,” began Kirran. “Our choices are a bunch of tiny rooms full of Vex, or one long tunnel full of Vex?” He reloaded and mowed through the last trio of Goblins, leaving Paradox’s Hobgoblin as the sole survivor.

Paradox aimed for the juicebox. The Hobgoblin went down. “Come on, guys. We haven’t reached the second terminal yet.”

“I’m game if you are,” Antonia shrugged. Now that the Vex were dealt with for the moment, there was no need to shout over weapons fire. She looked at Kirran askance.

Kirran sighed. “Okay, okay. How are we planning to punch through the tunnel? We don’t have to clear it, obviously, but we’ve got to get the Vex out of our way somehow.”

After thinking for a moment, Paradox summoned his Sparrow.

“Huh,” he said. “So the vehicle grid  _ does  _ have a signal in here.”

Grinning, Antonia held up a finger. “Hang on. Got an idea. You have a Nova Bomb, Dox?”

Paradox was sort of feeling it. “Probably.”

The Hunter trasmaterialized her hand cannon and suddenly, a rocket launcher appeared in her arms. It was almost two-thirds of her height and the tube was thicker than Kirran’s arms. “Brought this for just such an occasion,” she said proudly. “You open with your bomb, I’ll handle the overlap, Kirran covers my reloads with that machine gun of his. Easy peasy-”

“-Lemon squeezy!” Leto finished. 

Kirran wasn’t convinced. “HMG isn’t exactly cost-efficient.”

“Relax,” said Antonia. “T’s got enough synth after all those kills. Don’t you, T?”

Tiresias whirred nervously. “Er...to quote Paradox, ‘probably.’” 

“Then we’re in business!” Antonia shouldered her launcher. “Who’s giving me a ride?”

“Kirran,” said Paradox.

“Dox,” said Kirran, at the same time. They glared at each other.

“I have to agree with Kirran,” said Lexicon. “Our attack vectors are limited after the Nova Bomb is spent. We should compensate with Antonia’s rockets, while Kirran stays mobile.”

“ _ Thank  _ you,” Kirran said.

Lexicon spun his shell. “ _ Some _ one needed to strategize today.”

Sighing, Tiresias drifted across the room. “I’ll get the door.”

As Kirran climbed onto his own Sparrow, Antonia sat on the rear of Paradox’s bike, angling her rocket launcher to the side above his shoulders. 

She had to grip the chassis with her thighs, which meant her knees were poking his legs. Paradox tensed.

Antonia made some adjustment to the launcher behind him. “Chill out,” she said, so only he could hear. “You’re gonna crash us into something.”

“I don’t normally get this close to people,” he said, with what he hoped was an apologetic inflection.

She chuckled. “Trust me, you’re doing better than  _ he  _ would.”

Kirran called from across the room. “Door’s open. We doing this or what?”

“Get your bomb,” Antonia said.

Paradox gunned the engine. “Don’t be a backseat Warlock.”

They took off.

The Sparrow rumbled under him, but didn’t seem to perform any worse with the added weight. Wind howled past them, flinging the wet jungle condensation from his robes.

“Leto,” yelled Antonia. “Play ‘The Chain’ by Fleetwood Mac!”

“No! No music!” Kirran shouted back. “We need the element of surprise!”

“What?” She pointed to her helmet. “I can’t hear you!”

“I  _ said,  _ no! Music!”

LISTEN TO THE WIND BLOW…

Kirran gritted his teeth and tightened his fists on the handlebars.  _ Toni, I’ve been trying so hard to value your friendship today.  _ His machine gun was propped on the dashboard, ready to freehand when he needed it.

The two Sparrows tore out of the darkened Section Two blast door and into the access tunnel, a wide lane of magstrips with emergency lighting glowing orange down onto defunct service vehicles and upright, circular Vex gates. Some of the gates were empty. Others were active, shimmering with blue-white film.

As was becoming a theme today, red eyes turned and focused on them.

Paradox took a deep breath and felt something in him snap gently. There was a Nova Bomb waiting inside his soul, and it was a big one. He took note of a slight mound of rubble, and decided to take advantage of it.

“Hold on tight!” He told Antonia, before hitting the mound and going airborne, before disengaging the circular stabilizers and barrel rolling to dodge enemy fire. As they momentarily flipped upside down, he flung his arm out, already shrouded in Void energies, and let out not one, but  _ three _ Nova Bombs, carpet bombing the Vex position and blasting their entire front line out of existence. They plopped down in the ashes with a thud and shot forward, Kirran following close behind.

“Yee fucking haw, kid!!” Antonia exclaimed, laughing as she sighted her launcher at the Vex Gates down the way, already firing up with reinforcements.

“My name’s not kid,” Paradox corrected again over the roar of Vex shrieks and the wind whipping against the Sparrows.

“You can say that again!” Antonia shouted as she let a charge of ordinance loose. It roared ahead and slammed right into a Gate, disabling it and shattering the Goblins that had congregated around it.

“Can we please stay focused?” Kirran requested.

“We’re perfectly focused!” Antonia complained as she send another rocket roaring down to take out the next set of targets. “Reloading! You’re up, Lee!”

“So…” Paradox started as machine gun fire opened up from behind. “Vex are milk?”

“ _ Are we still on that topic?!”  _ Kirran’s voice blared.

“Most dangerous milk in the known universe,” Antonia replied, fiddling with the launcher.

“Don’t encourage him!” Kirran chastised.

“I’ve read they run immense simulations to predict the course of any given timeline,” Paradox said.

A round of Vex munition streaked too close for comfort by Antonia, singing her arm.

“Argh!” She yelled. “Predict  _ this _ , assholes!” She roared as another rocket went out to slam into more Vex.

“Apparently they literally can’t,” Paradox went on. “Paracausality breaches physics, so they can’t simulate Guardians.”

“We know this, Dox,” Kirran chimed in.

“Just thought it was interesting,” Paradox mumbled as Antonia let loose another rocket, this time into a Minotaur’s head.

“Hey! Let the Warlock talk!” Antonia chastised. “It’s a sacred pastime for them!” She declared as she sent another rocket barrelling into the Minotaur just as they got a bit close to it, causing the twin Sparrows to zip through the ash and smoke dramatically.

“Here’s a sacred pastime for you,” Kirran quipped as he let loose with his machine gun, fantastically shredding metal and milk and sending the surviving Vex into cover.

Antonia laughed at the carnage. In spite of himself, Paradox laughed, too.

“Coming up on the terminal room now,” Lexicon reported.

“Good, I’m low,” Kirran replied. “Let’s get in there, grab the records, then transmat out.”

“I don’t believe only one additional terminal will be enough to defragment,” Lexicon worried.

“We’ll see what happens,” Paradox said.

At that moment, however, they met with an old friend.

“Hydra!” Kirran shouted as the behemoth Vex appeared directly in their way, red eye angry and glowing.

“There’s the bastard!” Antonia swore. “Kirran, open up!”

“I’m  _ low _ !” Kirran yelled, just as the Hydra launched its munitions at them, detonating one in just the right place to send both Sparrows careening away and crashing into the walls.

Paradox got up as the Sparrow dissipated and gave Antonia a hand. He looked over and saw Kirran taking cover behind a support pillar. Paradox glared at the Hydra, and glanced at his own ammo - not much better off.

“They’re going to have more coming from behind,” Antonia pointed out. “We’ve gotta punch through this thing, fast.”

Paradox started to glow a dark, malevolent purple. “I’ll set it up, you two knock it down.”

“Time it right,” Antonia warned.

“ _ Place _ it right,” Kirran added.

Paradox ignored the parenting and waited as explosive rounds soared by. He saw the Hydra’s barrier float around lazily until it was on its flank, then rushed out. He jumped up and glided right over the giant machine as it tracked him with its single eye. He felt his fury get compacted into three little balls of Void and launched it all downwards, right onto the Hydra’s head.

He landed on the other side of the Hyrda as its barrier came around to face him and stared up at the rattled, but intact, machine, which rained hell down on him, shredding his shields and killing him in seconds.

Just as Paradox died, though, Kirran’s Fist of Havoc slammed directly into the Hydra’s exposed back side, dazing it and leaving it wide open as three shining bullets of Solar light pounding themselves into its armor, the last one blowing out its angry red eye. The behemoth fell and detonated, scattering its slag across the room.

Lexicon hovered over Paradox’s body, gathering Light. He flashed just as Kirran and Antonia approached, and Paradox drew new breath again.

“Ballsy move,” Antonia said. “You could’ve run for cover, you know.”

“Wasn’t quick enough on my feet,” was all he said. “Come on, let’s get what we came here for.”

The trio walked into the room, and sure enough, a single terminal dimly glowing with energy, could be seen. Lexicon hovered over quickly, and interfaced with it.

“Well? What have we got?” Paradox prompted. His Ghost looked at him.

“Names: Duane-McNiadh, Shim, Esi, Sundaresh. There’s an access record here, too, but it’s corrupted.” Lexicon shrugged. “I’m going to need another tap. Preferably a primary control system.”

Kirran groaned. “Okay, how much deeper?”

“Not  _ far, _ ” said Lex. “It’s only-”

“Behind that giant security door with all the Vex warping in behind it!” Leto interrupted. “Oh, man, they reeeeeally don’t want us to get in!”

Tiresias spoke over the sound of Kirran facepalming. “Alright, who wants to hack it?”

“Not it,” said Leto and Lex at the same time.

“But I just opened the last door!”

“I’ve got it,” said Antonia and leveled her rocket launcher at the door.

Paradox realized what she was a about to do. “Shit, no no no no no-!”

Antonia grinned, yelled “Knock knock, motherfuckers!” and let fly.

“Antoniaaa!” Paradox and Kirran shouted together as they both watched the rocket shriek towards the door, erupting in shrapnel, flame, and pure kinetic power as it impacted. When the smoke cleared a bit, dozens of red eyes pierced the dark to acknowledge the new targets.

There was a pause as both sides processed each other’s presence. Calm before the storm.

Antonia threw a grenade.

“Eyes up, boys!” She shouted as she dashed over to cover, her grenade chewing up the Vex while the rest of the large group started shooting. Paradox hunkered down behind cover and groaned as he prepared for another firefight, but Kirran was having none of that.

“We are  _ not _ dealing with this!” Kirran shouted, Arc energy sparking from around him as he launched himself into the Vex horde. His fists crackled with power as he smashed them down onto the ground and into multiple chassis. In seconds, the room was cleared. Antonia crept out from cover after the thunderstorm was over and saw the panting Titan standing there, surrounded by ash.

“Spoilsport,” Antonia complained. “I set off fireworks and you rain on the parade.”

“He saved us time, at least,” Paradox remarked. He believed that sufficed to express his sincere thanks for Kirran’s patience. Or… choice to direct his lack of patience towards the Vex and not him. He knew he was asking a lot of these two, chasing names and history instead of tech that would make them the talk of the City for securing.

“Do your work, Lexicon,” Kirran ordered, shrugging off his frustration.

“Already working,” Lexicon chimed back as he floated over to a console, scanning it thoroughly. “Oh… data transit corrupted?”

“This better not be bad news,” Kirran stated.

“I can fix it,” Lexicon said. “But I’m going to need a bit of time.”

“Let me guess,” Kirran replied, “more Vex are on their way?”

“No, actually!” Leto chimed in. “They seem to be standing at bay for right now!”

“Might be preparing a big assault,” Tiresias noted.

“Might be tired of getting fucking  _ incinerated, _ ” Antonia quipped.

“The Vex, insofar as we can tell, have limitless numbers and resources,” Lexicon said. “I doubt that is the case.”

“Might be limitless in theory, but they’ve got to know how to prioritize,” Paradox said. “In any case, we’re here until Lex has the data. We may as well enjoy the peace and quiet.”

“ _ Peace and quiet _ ?” Antonia gasped. “Oh no, can’t have that. Leto, play-”

“ _ Play 4’33” by John Cage, _ ” Kirran practically hissed.

“Are you sure?” Leto beeped.

“Dead sure,” he huffed.

“4’33”, eh?” Paradox chuckled as Leto remained silent. “Didn’t know you were  _ that _ much a student of ancient music.”

“Knew a guy that always made cracks about it, thought it was the most hilarious thing,” Kirran explained tiredly. “Four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence. Wonder what that Cage guy was thinking.”

Paradox examined the terminal as Lexicon interfaced with it. “What was his name?”

Kirran looked at Paradox. “Pardon?”

“The guy, who always cracked about it,” Paradox clarified. “What was his name?”

Kirran paused a moment, uncertain what the interest was about. “Niklaus-10. Praxic Warlock.”

“What happened to him?” Paradox asked.

“Crota,” Kirran said simply.

“I see,” Paradox acknowledged, turning back to the terminal. “I figured that might’ve been the case.”

“Why do you care? Warlock curiosity?” Kirran asked, himself curious.

“Felt it’d be wrong for me to drag you this far into Vex territory for the names of people I never knew, without learning the name of at least one person you knew,” Paradox explained.

“That’s… nice,” Kirran replied. He really had no idea how to respond to that.

“I knew Nikki, too,” Antonia piped up. “He was one of my favorite Warlocks. Sense of humor, good taste in music. I still remember seeing him get shot down during Twilight Gap, then pop up without his Ghost ever coming out, shining like a fucking disco ball.”

“Didn’t know he fought at Twilight Gap,” Kirran said, surprised.

“He didn’t like talking about it,” Antonia explained, fiddling boredly with her knife. “Lost a lady friend of his to a really lucky Vandal.”

“Just like Rene…” Kirran shook his head.

“Shit, Rene?” Antonia asked, suddenly interested.

“Cosmodrome,” Kirran explained. “Few decades ago. Went in a little too hot. Shot to the head got him, then his Ghost was caught in a lucky grenade blast.”

“You’re fucking kidding!” Antonia swore loudly, before Kirran shushed her, reminding her of the Vex threat surrounding them. She huffed and shook her head in disbelief, crossing her arms as well. “Unfuckingbelievable…”

Some words started bubbling in Kirran, about how many others were gone for good since she had gone off into the wilds. A lot of feelings he had kept a good lid on were churning. Luckily, Paradox spoke up before he could get into any of them.

“I’m going to start a new journal,” Paradox announced suddenly. “For names. Of people I should know.”

“...Good for you,” was all Kirran could muster.

“It is good,” Antonia agreed. “You seem really into biographical shit. Most Warlocks go for the big dangerous stuff like thanatonautics. Kirran and I can talk your ears off about all the people we’ve ever known - I mean, we would, if you had ears.”

“...Thanatonautics?” Paradox asked. He had, of course, come across the word before. Only in association with history, though; related to names like Osiris and Toland. Information on the topic itself was scarce. This might be a good chance for him to learn something real about it, he realized.

Kirran went rigid. “Nope. No. Don’t ask.” He shot Antonia a pointed look.

“Fine, fine,” she raised her hands in surrender. “Sorry. That’s my B.”

Paradox scraped his boot across the floor. “I don’t like it when you two do that.”

“Do what?” they asked simultaneously.

“Say something interesting and immediately clam up.” He narrowed his eyes. “It’s unfair. And frustrating.”

Antonia shared another long look with Kirran and sighed. “Look, Dox. I’ve got a big mouth, okay? My foot gets caught in there a lot. Sometimes just the toes, sometimes up to the ankle, hell maybe even my whole leg-”

Kirran coughed. “I think that one got away from you a little.”

She shrugged. “Case in point.”

“What point?” Paradox said, now more confused and impatient than before.

“The  _ point  _ is,” Antonia said, as if that tangent had never happened. “That there are some things it’s just better we don’t talk about. Cool?”

“Cool…” Paradox said. “So...why?”

“Because curiosity killed the Warlock,” said Kirran.

Paradox jerked his thumb at Lexicon. “Guardian.”

“ _ Trust  _ me,” Kirran said. “If you really want an answer, ask Ikora, but thanatonautics is bad shit. Really bad shit, where you don’t want to poke your nose.”

“ _ Thanatos _ , from the ancient Greek god of death,” Paradox mused. “And  _ nautics _ from ‘voyager’ or ‘tripper,’ huh?”

With a curse, Kirran smacked the crown of his helmet. “Stop that! Stop decoding!”

Lexicon froze. “You want me to stop?”

“Not you!” The Titan leaned on the wall and slid down into a sitting position. “Light above.”

Antonia tossed her rifle from hand to hand. “Aaaaaanyway...what was I saying?”

“You were talking about biographical things,” Lexicon said before Paradox could answer. “Which is convenient, because I now have those in spades, direct from the Ishtar database!” He transmatted out in front of the group.

Paradox reached out to catch him as he drifted over. “Those corrupted files defrag okay?” 

“After a fashion.” Lex rotated his shell. “I think Researcher Redblood would be interested in these, too.”

“Not to mention the entire rest of the Cryptarchy,” Kirran said, getting to his feet. “So, are we leaving or what?”

Antonia shrugged. “No reason to stay.”

“Speaking of,” Tiresias intoned. “I’m getting movement from the Vex again.”

Kirran tensed. “Alright, what’s the fastest way out?”

Tiresias clicked. “Same way we came in, but I doubt there’s a signal from the vehicle grid all the way in here.”

“Great.”

Paradox looked around. “Is there anything in here we could use?”

“There’s as good a chance yes as no,” said Tiresias. 

A muffled crash prompted Kirran and Paradox to about-face, upon which they realized Antonia had disappeared.

Kirran materialized his auto rifle and cautiously edged around a cargo crate. The flashlight on its barrel cut through the dim room. “Antonia?”

Summoning his hand cannon, Paradox listened for a reply - or for the sound of in-warping Vex. Neither came.

“Fuck,” said Kirran emphatically. He turned to Paradox. “Stay here.”

Paradox shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. We should search for her together.”

Kirran’s helmet was impassive, but by his tone he was scowling. “I  _ said,  _ stay here.”

“I’m sorry,” Paradox began, his temper flaring within his abdomen. “But is your name Ikora Rey? Because last I checked,  _ you’re  _ not the  _ boss  _ of m-”

Another crash cut him off.

“Hey, boys!” Antonia called from somewhere in the room. “Look what I found!”

Begrudgingly, they turned to find her voice, and she emerged from between two containers, Leto shining a spotlight on something clutched in her arms.

“What do you make of this?” she said triumphantly, thrusting it at Paradox.

He squinted and saw writing stenciled on it. “Property of Ishtar Collective. WARNING: Gravity propulsor beam can cause serious injury or even death.”

“There’s like a whole crate of them back there,” said Antonia excitedly. “Some kind of-”

“-gravity grapple,” Leto finished. “We think.”

“Propulsor beam…” Lexicon said thoughtfully. “Hey, we might be able to use this!”

“Serious injury,” deadpanned Kirran. “Or even death.”

Lexicon paid him no heed. “I’ll have to gut your rocket launcher, Antonia, but maybe we can rig some sort of escape vehicle if we make use of the rest of these.”

“Sure,” she said. “I’ve got like ten at home.”

“There’s gotta be a ton of other useful parts lying around, right?” Leto added.

Paradox took another look at the gravity grapple. “Serial assignation reads, ‘Tractor Cannon.’ Yeah, this should do the trick.”

“Um, hello?” Kirran waved. “Am I the only one who’s thinking we maybe shouldn’t fuck with the extremely dangerous Golden Age gravity gun?”

Tiresias shifted his shell apologetically. “...You  _ did  _ ask for the fastest way out.”

“Oh, come on! My own Ghost?” 

Paradox and Antonia looked back at him, then at each other, then at him again.

“Five against one,” Antonia said.

Paradox shrugged. “That’s democracy.”

Kirran groaned. “Fine. What all do we need to do?”

“We’ll need Antonia’s launcher, and…” Lexicon paused, scanning the gravity device. “Six of these should be enough. Plus if someone can find some kind of power source, and shield generators, or something to make a generator out of.”

“I’m already giving up my big gun,” Antonia noted, “Kirran, you bring the rest of these things over.”

“I’ll look for parts, then,” Paradox said.

“Not by yourself, you’re not,” Kirran warned.

“Someone needs to cover the Ghosts while they put this thing together,” Paradox reminded. “Grabbing the gravity guns won’t take you too far off, so you can back Antonia up. I’m not going to take on the whole Vex Collective myself. Relax.”

“Go, then,” Antonia said, taking a hand cannon out as static sang in the air. “We’re gonna have company in about two seconds!”

Kirran sighed and set off around the side of the crate, trying his best to retrace Antonia’s steps. Soon enough, the sound of him rooting through the piles of gadgets was echoing off the walls.

Paradox turned away from the warping Vex to cover Lexicon. “Scan anything?”

“I think I see a power source to your left,” Lex said.

Antonia emptied her hand cannon into a crowd of goblins and twirled it, reloading smoothly. “I need more firepower here. Kirran, give me your MG!”

“Kind of have my hands full!” Kirran grunted, somewhere within the crates. “Can you hold on a minute?”

“Sure, but they’re getting closer! If Dox gets shot in the back, it’s your fault!” She lobbed a grenade and ducked away from a Hobgoblin’s tracer fire.

Paradox pried a bunch of helium coils from a cracked case and dumped them on the ground next to Antonia’s rocket launcher and the first Tractor Cannon. “What are we going to sit on?”

Lexicon whirred. “I’m thinking we bootleg this to one of the crates. We need the rest of the gravity guns.”

“I’m right here!” Kirran said, straining as he was laden with six Tractor cannons, two in each hand and two under each arm. He let them all clatter to the floor, red energy bolts streaking past his helmet. “Antonia, do you still-”

“Get down!” squealed Leto, as a purple Slap Grenade landed in the middle of the group. Kirran dove for cover, along with Paradox once he’d taken pains to protect the helium coils.

There was a fiery snap-hiss as Antonia let off her Golden Gun, then three more explosions. “What did you say, Kirran?” she yelled over her shoulder.

“I said,” he shouted, struggling to be heard over the gunfire and wailing goblins. “Do you still want the MG!”

Paradox made it into a crouch and took aim at a Minotaur, but Lexicon materialized next to him. 

“I need you to hold this,” said Lex, buzzing around the coils and the launcher.

“Where?” Paradox picked it up tentatively, but Lex’s answer was cut off by Antonia.

“I’m a little low on ammo!” she said. “Whole flaming pistol thing burns it all out!”

“Right  _ here, _ ” Lexicon said, nudging Paradox’s hand.

Kirran swore and shouldered Antonia out of the way. “Then trade with me!” He summoned his machine gun and opened up. Several headless goblins were making a beeline for their position, electrostatic radiolaria sparking throughout their frames. “Hey, they’re sending in Fanatics!”

Lexicon cried out in frustration. “I said to hold that!”

“I am holding it!” Paradox said.

Antonia ducked under Kirran’s arm, throwing a fan of knives. “You maybe wanna Fist of Havoc sometime?”

“Not just yet,” he said, shoving another belt into the machine gun. 

She sighed.

He rounded on her. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“You sighed. I distinctly heard a sigh.”

Paradox hefted the freshly helium-coiled launcher tube and dragged it over to the crate. “Here?”

“Over there,” Lex said. “I’ll transmat the gravity guns.”

“We’ve been at this all day!” Kirran exclaimed as he shot down a brace of Fanatics. “What do you want from me!”

“C’mon, tough guy,” Antonia drawled. “Where’s that Titan stamina?”

“Will you two shut the  _ fuck  _ up?” Paradox howled, standing on his toes to place the launcher right for Lex. Six Tractor Cannons slammed into the crate, nearly pulverizing him.

“ _ What? _ ” Kirran and Antonia wheeled around.

“He said, everyone get on!” Lexicon disappeared. “We’re ready to move!”

Kirran threw a lightning grenade and dropped his machine gun, boosting Antonia up onto the crate. He then clambered up himself, his Titan mark whipping Paradox in the face.

Paradox made to follow him, but found himself unable to move. He struggled, and quickly found the problem: his coat was pinned by the Tractor Cannons. “Um, Lex? We have a problem.”

“What?” Lexicon said. “I can’t hear you! We need to go!”

“Dox, come on!” Kirran leaned over the side, grabbing Paradox’s shoulders. He pulled, but the Warlock wouldn’t budge. “What’s wrong with you!”

“I’m stuck, you cretin!” Paradox tried to slap his hand away, but the Titan had an iron grip.

“Um, guys,” Antonia called. “Big Vex! Really big Vex!”

Kirran and Paradox looked up. There was indeed a really big Vex. It was probably the biggest Minotaur Kirran had ever seen. It bellowed and aimed its massive arm cannon at their crate.

“Shit!” Kirran locked his fists around Paradox and squeezed his eyes shut. “Just punch it!”

“Punching it!” Lexicon said.

“Lex, no!” said Paradox.

“Lex,  _ yes! _ ”

The Tractor Cannons discharged and the world blurred and twisted, a nagging lurch in Paradox’s stomach. The crate flew toward the ruined blast doors and out into the tram tunnel, hurtling past the Vex Mind.

“AntoniaaaaaaAAAAAAUUUGHHHHH!” Kirran was ripped off the top of the crate and flung lengthwise into its wake, only his grip on Paradox keeping him with the group. 

The fact that Dox’s coat wasn’t being shredded by the centrifugal force was a testament to the matterweaving of the Cryptarchy, but it was about the only thing that was in presentable shape right now. His whole body was vibrating, sparks and broken sounds leaving his vocalsynth as if he were being electrocuted. He couldn’t see or breathe, and the helium coils were radiating heat just over his head. It felt like he was being bounced between all six gravity guns equidistantly and simultaneously.

Kirran was flailing in the jetstream, his legs treading the air like he was trying to swim. As he swung left to right, he clenched his teeth to avoid biting down on his tongue, but every bump and jerk rattled his skull. 

Antonia was prone on the crate, trying to snake crawl to the edge and working against significant inertia. “Kirran! Swing this way!”

“I - can’t - control - this!” Kirran yelled through his teeth.

“Then hold still!” Antonia concentrated and reached into the Void, slipping a black hole between her fingertips. A glowing purple bow formed in her hands and she nocked an arrow, rolling onto her back to take aim.

Kirran’s eyes went wide. “Wait, no no no-!”

Antonia loosed her Shadowshot, bouncing a singularity off Kirran’s airborne body and tethering him to the crate. His boot plastered to the side of Paradox’s head, finally grounding him.

Paradox’s wits came back to him enough to start wriggling out of his coat, enough so that he could grab Kirran’s ankle and try to pull himself up. Kirran grunted in surprise, then pain as the Exo planted a foot somewhere softer than he’d have liked. Paradox scaled his body like a ladder until he, too, was in range of the tether, and then rolled onto the top of the crate, panting.

“Yeah!” Antonia whooped. “We did it, boys!”

Kirran groaned. 

Pushing himself up as much as he could manage, Paradox looked past her to see the end of the tram line rushing toward them. “Lex, disengage the guns!”

“Got it!” The Tractor Cannons fell away, sending the coil-propelled rocket launcher flying into the ceiling, where it disappeared in a plume of napalm.

The crate didn’t stop.

“We still have too much momentum!” Antonia said. 

Kirran waved his arms frantically. “Un-tether me!”

“You can’t - I can’t just un-tether something!”

“Just do it!”

Antonia drew her hand cannon and took the best aim she could, but came up empty. “Dox! Shoot the tether!”

Paradox unloaded his own cannon into the purple mass and it dissipated, freeing Kirran.

“Alright, brace yourselves!” Kirran forced himself up, ran down the length of the crate, and dove off the front, throwing his shoulder into it as he hit the ground. His legs screamed in protest as his boots grated across the floor. He tried to imagine the Wall wrapping around him,  _ becoming  _ the Wall. Something solid that would stop the crate.

It didn’t work.

“Damn it!” he roared, anger flaring in the pit of his belly. The Light did the rest.

A shining purple dome sprang up around him, slamming into the crate and jolting it to a full stop. Paradox and Antonia flew over his head, bounced harmlessly off the Ward of Dawn, and hit the wall with non-lethal force. The two of them slid to the floor as if greased, bruised and battered but unbroken and alive.

Kirran’s Ward collapsed and he doubled over, ripping off his helmet to vomit all over the floor at the base of the crate.

“Oh, that’s nasty…” Paradox stated.

“Fuck y-” Kirran stammered before heaving again, losing breakfast along with lunch.

“Easy, big guy,” Antonia said, already at Kirran’s side. Paradox noted how quickly she went over to him; he found it curious, considering it was just a bit of kinetic overstimulation and regurgitation. It was nothing compared to what any given Guardian goes through, but she was already ready to tend to him. He figured she was just so naturally protective, but that… didn’t gel well with her reckless and impulsive nature.

“We’re almost back in range of the vehicle network,” Lexicon noted.

“We can get out of this dark dank tunnel and get some  _ sun _ !” Leto chimed. 

“Where there’s plenty of Fallen to shoot at us,” Tiresias bemoaned.

“Less Vex, though,” Antonia replied. “That’ll be a nice change of pace.”

Kirran wiped his mouth off with his gauntlet. “I think I’m ready to go back to the City.”

“I agree,” Paradox said. “We’ve got what we came in for. We can come back for more.”

“OK, but I’m picking the next stomping ground,” Kirran claimed. “I call dibs.”

“Fair,” Paradox conceded.

“Are we calling dibs now?” Antonia said. “Dibs after Kirran. And eternal, all-time, forever after dibs on DJ’ing.”

“Wha- you can’t… Antonia, I... see, you--!” Kirran stammered.

“Honor the dibs!” Antonia commanded. “Honor them or forever foreswear your Light and your honor as a Guardian!”

“Antonia…” He grumbled.

“Honor them or I’ll tell Shaxx!”

“...FUCK!” Kirran swore.

“Kirran,” Paradox spoke up. “You gotta honor the dibs.”


	7. Paradox-9 Tries Falafel (and Scotch)

**The Last City, Earth**

A rickshaw peeled around a corner, kicking up dust and gravel. Paradox-9 stepped back to save his robes.

“Remind me why we’re here, again?” he said tacitly.

Around him, the street was crawling with activity. Civilian workers were starting their dinner breaks, frames patrolled or swept the gutters; children ran this way and that, desperate to seize the last sliver of daylight. It was perhaps the busiest street he’d ever seen, and it made his servos itch.

“Culture,” said Antonia, unsealing her helmet and shaking out her hair. “And because barfboy, here needed a pit stop.”

“My  _ stomach, _ ” Kirran complained. “Is gonna digest itself. I need food.”

Paradox turned to him quizzically. “Do you actually feel entropic hunger, or are you just kvetching?”

“He’s kvetching. Tiresias won't let him starve,” Antonia interrupted before Kirran could respond. She put her helmet under her arm. “Puking still sucks though. What’s your tummy asking for, big guy?”

Kirran looked up and down the street. He was obviously in some kind of discomfort. “Let’s just find someplace that isn’t crowded.”

Following his gaze, Dox puzzled over the storefronts. They all looked pretty much the same to him, and most seemed to have only standing room at best.

Leto appeared over Antonia’s shoulder. “Ooh! Falafel stand - ten o’clock!”

“Light above, falafel sounds better than sex right now,” Kirran said. He raced ahead, toward a cart that sported a bright green umbrella.

Antonia glanced at Dox, fidgeting with the rim of her helmet. “Okay, so who knows how long  _ that’s  _ gonna take.” She leaned against a wall, several layers of fading posters and adverts flaking onto her sleeve. 

“Aw, c’mon!” Leto whined. “We’re not gonna get falafel, too?”

“Leto, you can’t even eat it!” Antonia exclaimed. “You just like to  _ have  _ it. Where are you even going to put it? I’m not stuffing falafel into my backpack without a tupperware!”

Sulking, Leto floated a little ways down the street, watching Kirran in line.

“I always found it… strange, that Guardians ate things,” Paradox noted, trying to find a way to continue conversing.

“I mean, nothing hits the spot like some hot grub after a long day out in the field,” Antonia shrugged. “Stress relief, physical pleasure, all that. Not all that strange at all, really.”

“I’ve never tried it,” Paradox admitted. Antonia’s expression made him aware that some kind of elaboration was in order. “On my way to the City, after I was Raised, I asked Lexicon if I should be foraging for food. He said I didn’t need to eat or drink or sleep anymore, provided I let him fix it when my body needed to. I stopped eating and drinking. Sleep helps me keep a sense of time, puts a stopper on the day, so to speak, so I found it useful. But eating just felt… distracting.”

“Dox, buddy, we gotta get you some bites to eat,” Antonia laughed. “Just because you don’t have to doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Helps keep you grounded. C’mon, think I changed my mind about that falafel,” she remarked, patting Paradox on the shoulder blade and walking towards the stand, subtly moving past the people now behind Kirran in line to stand next to the Titan.

Paradox watched her go, remembering that she tended not to force people into things, but signalled when she expected or hoped them to join her. It was evident, in this moment, that she was being social. He realized that she was likely to continue being social, unless he adamantly rejected such behavior. This didn’t sit with him, so he concluded he’d have to be social, as well. But that would require a rather new venue of research, and for that, he’d need notes.

“Lexicon,” he said, his Ghost materializing over his shoulder. “Begin two new logs, tagged ‘social’. Journal K and Journal A. First entry in Journal A, tag as ‘IP’, quote: ‘Does not coerce; subtle invitations preferred. Gentle physical contact followed by sudden disengagement.’ Unquote.”

“Keeping tabs on the company?” Lexicon asked. “You’re not gunning for a position with the Hidden, are you?”

“Just trying to be a good researcher,” Paradox stated simply, glancing at his Ghost, who dematerialized just as he walked over to join Antonia, mimicking her subtle neglect of the rest of the line, which was fortunate, since Kirran (and therefore the rest of the team) now was approaching the front.

“Budge over,” Antonia said, cutting into the line as if Kirran had been saving her a spot. 

To Dox’s surprise, Kirran accepted this and moved without protest or, really, showing that he’d noticed. Instead, he scanned the menu posted above the cart intently, reviewing his falafel options.

“Burger…” he muttered. “Nice.”

“You’re getting a  _ burger  _ at a falafel stand?” drawled Antonia. “I can’t take you anywhere.”

“It’s a  _ falafel  _ burger!” Kirran said. “It’s got spinach and avocado sauce and shit. You can hardly call it a burger. I’m getting it anyway.”

“Lexicon, what defines a burger?” Paradox asked out of the corner of his mouth.

“You’ll get a burger at every opportunity,” she insisted. “If Saint-14 stepped out of that alleyway right now and offered you an extensive menu of genuine Eliksni cuisine, you would ask him for a  _ burger. _ ”

“A food item consisting of a cooked patty and other toppings,” said Lexicon. “So, yes, falafel counts.”

“It even has a bun!” Kirran was rolling off Lexicon’s affirmation. “A homemade bun.”

“I want a falafel burger,” Leto said mournfully.

“God damnit, fine!” Antonia shoved Kirran out of the way and slapped a handful of glimmer on the cart. “Three falafel burgers. And the Korean barbeque bowl.”

The vendor nodded cheerfully. “Coming right up!” As he did something mysterious and incomprehensible behind the counter, Paradox craned his neck to observe, but the cash register obscured his view.

After a few minutes there was a rush of steam and crinkling of several foil wrappers. The vendor handed over the burgers and a basket of more falafel, all of which Antonia passed to Kirran.

“Thanks.” Kirran smiled at the man.

“Thank  _ you, _ Guardians,” he said earnestly and then, “Be brave.” Like a prayer.

Antonia graciously inclined her head, and then let the ritual roll off her back, turning to walk away like any normal streetgoer.

Kirran’s smile sort of fell, and then righted itself with practiced ease. “Light be with you.” He looked at Dox askance and turned to follow Antonia.

Paradox spared the vendor one last look and stepped out of the line. He was still debating whether to refuse his falafel burger or give it a chance, but presently, something else was bothering him. “Lex, did that seem like one or two expressions to you?” he asked, watching the back of Kirran’s head.

“There was definitely something going on there,” Lex said.

“Entry KP-1,” Paradox began while catching up to his fireteam.

“So, that was awkward,” Antonia said casually. “Good falafel, though. Dox, you want yours?” She was already halfway through her bowl and thrusting one of the burgers at him.

He took it, but didn’t unwrap it. “Awkward? Seemed a fairly normal interaction to me. Don’t civilians thank us pretty commonly?” Not that he sought it out, or would have known how to react himself.

“Tower techs might do it, but they have a stake in all this,” she replied. “And refugees, ditto. The City slickers, though - that’s always a little weird.”

“Especially when they’re selling you falafel,” Kirran said with a mouthful of burger. “It’s weird to pay someone for a service and then have them treat you like a hero.”

“So,” Paradox said slowly. “Was that a social faux pas? To show his appreciation like that? It still seems harmless.”

Antonia stopped walking and put up her hands. “No, no. There was nothing wrong with it. It’s just, you’re never really ready for it.”

“...then, compliments can be a bad thing?”

“Let me put it to you this way,” said Kirran. “Do you ever stop to think about people thanking you while you’re shooting up Fallen? Or doing scans in the Archives?” He shrugged. “We’ve all got the bigger picture in mind, we know we’re here to save humanity. But it’s not something we took on for...you know, praise.”

“Or even with it in mind,” Antonia added. 

“It’s normal for the refugees,” Kirran continued. “If you’ve just saved their life, of course they’re gonna thank you. That’s the kind of thing that makes sense, that you’re prepared for. But that guy just sold us falafel. He doesn’t really have anything to thank us for.”

“Except our glimmer,” said Tiresias helpfully.

Kirran wiped his mouth. “I wasn’t gonna get that cynical, but yeah.”

“We don’t resent anybody for it,” Antonia said. “Or for not really being able to repay some kind of debt. It just makes it kind of awkward when they try. All they have to do is live. That’s what we’re fighting for.”

“Hm,” Paradox vocalized, processing the information. He looked around. He had walked the streets of the City before, when he first arrived, but ever since he had been focused on field work and research. He had never considered what it all was for. He knew humanity was in danger; that he had been Raised and granted incredible power to defend it; that was all he needed. But being in the City now made it feel like he was missing something. He looked at the faces all around. Humans, Awoken, Exos. Going about their business, the business that he and every Guardian made possible. 

It felt so… simple. But he knew it couldn’t be. The presence of the Traveler, looming overhead like a comforting cloud, meant that there was so much more than just shopping and walking and talking. He didn’t understand it, couldn’t see what about all of this warranted  _ Guardians _ . Not that he felt it was worthy of being destroyed, but he couldn’t understand, truly understand,  _ why _ he felt that way.

He looked at the falafel burger in his hands, still wrapped. Somehow, he felt like understanding started there. He unwrapped it and took a bite. It was… quite pleasant. It felt like nonsense, but even the knowledge of how nice eating was felt like it was one part of a larger puzzle, and that he was one step closer to comprehending what it meant to be a Guardian. What he was Raised for.

He realized Kirran and Antonia had carried on the conversation while he ruminated, though Antonia paused when she saw hm begin to eat.

“Decided to go for it?” Antonia asked, smiling. “What’s the verdict?”

Paradox looked at her, his face like a scientist discovering a promising line of research but still full of questions. “It is good. I would like to eat more food.”

“You haven’t even finished the burger yet!” Kirran pointed out through a mouthful of burger.

“I meant… in general,” Paradox clarified.

“Hear that, Kirran?” Antonia smirked, “We turned the kinder on to eating. Next he’ll be slogging booze.”

“I would like to try alcohol, as well,” Paradox said. “I… hrm…” Paradox started, then paused. He recognized that this may not be the time or place for him to wax on about how he wanted to pursue a philosophical comprehension of City life. He tried his best to be concise. “I would like to try more things.”

Kirran and Antonia shared a look. 

“Alcohol,” Kirran said.

She shook her head. “We are  _ not  _ taking him to the Brew.”

“Why not?”

“You never go out to a bar for your first drink!” Antonia insisted. “You do it at home with friends. I have a vintage at my place; let’s sic him on that.”

Kirran wrinkled his nose. “Where did you get a vintage?”

“Nicked it from a Dead Orbit christening ceremony.” She tapped her foot. “Let’s  _ go. _ ”

“I don’t know,” he mused. “You really think Dox is gonna be into the classy shit?”

“Gotta start somewhere.”

Paradox cleared his throat. “Do I get a say in this?”

“No,” they said at once.

“Lexicon, pull up an inventory of common alcoholic beverages and cross-reference them with my aesthetic preferences,” he replied, holding their gaze.

“I’d recommend scotch,” Lexicon said. 

“Scotch it is. I’m trying that,” said Paradox, with a tone that would brook no argument.

Kirran shrugged. “Okay. I know where to get some.”

 

“I like scotch,” Paradox slurred decisively. 

He and Antonia were seated in Kirran’s Tower dormitory, nursing a duo of tumblers he’d fished out of somewhere. Dox had begun by sitting on the edge of Kirran’s bed and over the course of the night had become an increasingly reclined Exo-shaped puddle. Antonia sat on the floor. Kirran had gone to get more scotch.

The Hunter grinned at him from where she was leaning against a cupboard. “Didn’t take you for such a rustic, kid.”

“It’s  _ not  _ just rustic,” he said urgently. “It’s  _ refined. _ It’s  _ versatile. _ ”

“I feel odd,” Lexicon warbled from the nightstand. “Oh, dear. This is really quite different.”

“Just relax,” Antonia said. “If you don’t wig out and don’t try to float too much, you’ll have a lot more fun. Right, Leto?”

Leto giggled, but it came out a lot more mellow than usual. “Yep…” She released a staticy noise that resembled a hiccup. 

“I don’t know,” said Lex. “You aren’t going to keep drinking, are you?”

Paradox looked at his tumbler. It was empty. “Where’s Kirran?” he asked loudly.

“He’ll be back soon, if he knows what’s good for him,” Antonia said, standing up and stretching. She wobbled over to the counter and checked on the bottle they’d been using. “Got maybe a finger left.”

His hand felt fuzzy and limp, but Dox handed her his glass and knocked back the thin layer of liquid she poured there a moment later. A pennant or flag of some kind on the wall caught his eye, but then he realized it must have been a retired Titan mark.

“Kirran’s interior design fails to surprise me,” he observed.

“What, the First Pillar mark?” Antonia laughed. “All those meatheads are like that. Can’t even go to sleep without their martyr complex staring them down.” She finished her drink. “Traveler, I haven’t been here in forever. Nothing’s changed.”

“The Tower?”

“Not  _ here _ as in here,” she gestured wildly. “Here as in  _ here _ . This room.”

“Hmm…” Paradox vocalized. His mind was foggy and his thoughts came slowly. He liked having the stream of consciousness slow down, it felt like he could actually breathe between thoughts, process them. He processed her statement slowly, analyzed it, examined it, found questions budding in the spaces between the words. “When was the last time you were here? How long have you known Kirran? How old are you, anyway?”

Antonia made a  _ tsk _ sound. “You should never ask a lady that question, Dox.”

“Well, how else am I supposed to find that information?” 

“I’m sure your little Owl Sector booty could find it for you,” she said with a lazy grin.

Dox sat bolt upright. “Okay, no. I’m putting a moratorium on this line of jokes right now. Researcher Redblood and I-”

The door opened.

“I brought scotch!” said Kirran.

“Kirran!” said Antonia.

“You brought scotch!” said Leto.

“Kirran!” Dox said.

“Dox!” said Kirran.

“Oh, no,” said Lexicon.

 

Max Redblood awakened at 23:26 hours to someone knocking politely but forcefully on his door.

He threw on a robe and hit the lights, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and opened it. “Can I help you?”

Paradox-9 stood there. There was a peculiar kilt to his posture and...was his jaw  _ sparking? _

“I gott thefiles yasked for,” he said.

Max blinked. “Come again?”

“The  _ files _ ,” Paradox emphasized. “Y’know… y’asked f’r’files? From Venus? I got ‘em.”

“Paradox, are you… drunk?” Max asked, confused. He knew Exos could get drunk, he didn’t know Paradox drank, though. It didn’t seem like his style.

“In theory!” He punctuated with a finger pointing upwards. “And I believe in practice.”

“I didn’t ask for any files, Paradox,” Max said plainly and patiently. He figured Paradox was having some drunken misunderstanding. “Perhaps someone else in Owl Sector…?”

“Nonono,” Paradox mumbled, “I  _ know _ it was you, cause I know, I  _ know _ , it was  _ your voice _ , that asked me toget ‘em, cause… cause if anyone else asked, I wasn’t gonna do it…”

“Paradox, I think you might need to lay down,” Max expressed, worried. “You’re not making a lot of sense.”

“I’ll lay anywhere you ask me to, Max,” Paradox said, his voice suddenly taking on a more tender tone. “Y’know, you’re… y-you’re really the only person I know, that I really trust to… to be as… as… what’s the… intellig… teligen… as  _ smart _ as me,” he admitted as Max guided him towards the couch. “You’re just… you’re so smart, Max, and you’re also really… you’re  _ good _ at what you do… and you’re also… you’re  _ funny _ … hah… and  _ cute _ …”

“This is adorable,” Max laughed. “You’re adorable. You’re also drunk, and confused.”

“I don’t think a lot of people are cute, Max,” Paradox drunkenly rambled. “I think… I think you’re it… only one…”

“You flatter me,” Max smiled, laying the Exo down on the couch and kneeling beside him, cupping his mechanical cheek. “I think you’re quite cute, too.”

“Oh,  _ shtop… _ ” Paradox slurred. “D’you want those files now?”

“What files did you get, anyway?” Max asked, finally giving up on convincing Dox of his mistake.

“Historical stuff,” he said. “From Ishtar. Names. Plus the readings you asked about for Owl Sector.”

“I didn’t ask for anything from Ishtar,” Max said, pleasantly surprised.

“No, that… ‘s a gift,” Paradox said, smiling stupidly. “Got ‘em along with the readings.”

“I still don’t know what readings you’re talking about,” Max reiterated. “I think you heard someone else’s voice.”

“No, no one else’s voice,” he said. “Had to be yours, otherwise wouldn’t do it… had to be yours… no one else… less  _ they _ used  _ your _ voice, heh heh…” he chuckled at his own stupid joke, until his eyes slowly focused as a thought come on to him. “Unless someone  _ did _ use your voice…”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Max said. “I don’t think anyone else could replicate my voice, and they certainly didn’t record me.”

“ _ Ghosts _ can replicate voices…” Paradox grumbled, holding a hand out. Lexicon materialized into his palm, and faced his glare. “ _ Lexicon… _ ”

“Paradox,” Lex replied calmly, before looking at Max. “Researcher Redblood. We are quite inebriated.”

“I noticed, Lexicon,” Max replied, smiling in amusement. “I presume you’ve been borrowing my voice?”

“Paradox-9 was in need of some additional motivation to partake in fireteam patrol activities outside of the Cosmodrome,” Lexicon explained. “I considered it a strategic application of cunning that would benefit all involved.”

“Fuck ofv…” Paradox slurred, relaxing his arm as Lexicon dematerialized. “Damned Ghost lied to me…”

“But it meant you got me a gift,” Max said, turning Dox’s face to look into his bloodshot eyes. “One that I truly appreciate quite a lot.”

Paradox sighed, closing his eyes and smiling. “I suppose that’s… a good tradeoff.”

“Do you want to get some sleep now?” Max asked gently.

“I should,” Paradox mumbled in assent, not opening his eyes.

“OK,” Max said, standing up. “You can sleep here tonight. I’ll get you some extra blankets. Is the couch alright?”

“Mmhm…” Paradox affirmed, already drifting off. “You’re a very good person Max… I’m glad… I’m glad that we’re friends.”

“I am, too,” Max said, placing blankets onto his drunken and brilliant Warlock. He resisted the urge to kiss him goodnight.  _ Not while he’s drunk _ , he reasoned. “Good night, Paradox. Light be with you.”

“Mm… you too…” Paradox sleepily mumbled back.

 

“Wake up, sleepyhead!” Antonia said as she leaned down unbearably close to Dox’s ear.

Her voice sent a stab of pain ricocheting through his head. “Ow, ow! Keep it down!” He struggled to sit up. “Wait. Antonia?”

“Surprise!” the Hunter said, spreading her arms. “What, you didn’t think I could track you down drunk? I track  _ better  _ when I’m drunk.”

“No she doesn’t,” Kirran said from the doorway.

“Is this your fireteam, Paradox?” Max was standing in his kitchenette with his robe on. “I think Lexicon let them in.”

Lex was on the coffee table, looking at Paradox balefully. 

“Traitor,” croaked Paradox.

“Says the one who fed us  _ poison _ ,” Lex said.

Meanwhile, Antonia was striding over to Max. “Yes! Yes we are.”

Beset from all sides by betrayal and fraud, Paradox rounded on her. “No, no you are not. I’m not part of any-”

Leto appeared over her shoulder. “I’ve already sent in the paperwork!”

Kirran laughed. “A Warlock’s worst enemy.”

“And a researcher’s best friend,” Max said.

“So this is  _ Max _ ,” Antonia said, giving him a generous once-over. “Nice bathrobe. Fluffy.”

Max looked confused. “Do I know you?”

“Oh, no, I’ve just heard a lot about you from hangover jones on the couch there.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Antonia.”

He gingerly took her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Hunter.”

“ _ I  _ know this guy,” Kirran said. “I’ve seen him around the City.” 

“Titan Lee,” Max said. “It’s a small world. Paradox, you never mentioned he was your mentor.”

“Yeah, you didn’t mention Max was your contact in the Cryptarchy, either,” Kirran said.

Paradox fumed. “I mentioned Researcher Redblood by name several times, Kirran, but in any event, maybe I didn’t draw exorbitant attention to it because I didn’t want you two invading my private life!”

Antonia snorted. “Private? Boy, your private life is over. You’re in a fireteam now. No secrets!”

Kirran raised an eyebrow at her. She didn’t seem to notice.

Lexicon sighed. “This might as well be happening.”

“You quisling,” Paradox spat. “You were hoping for this!”

“Want to double-check your thesaurus? I’m pretty sure you can call me a traitor a few more ways before it gets stale. Oh, wait.”

Max whistled. “Ouch. I felt that from here.”

Dox shot him a glance. “Are you going to  _ help  _ me?”

“Hey, this is above my pay grade,” the researcher said. “I’m not a Guardian. Besides, you seem to be having fun.”

“We sure are! Wheee!” belted Leto, who was likely still plenty drunk.

“Unbelievable…” Paradox griped. “I  _ appreciate _ you two helping me out the way you have, sticking with me through the Archives, and I  _ don’t _ mind spending more time with you. It’s obvious we have skills and training that augment each other. But I don’t think a romp around the Ishtar Sink and a round in the Crucible warrants a  _ fireteam _ .”

“I do,” Antonia said, helping herself to a sausage from Max’s stove. “Vegan?”

“Healthier for me,” Max explained. “My body doesn’t like animal proteins. I can put some more on if you’re hungry,” he offered.

“Dox, I like your boyfriend,” Antonia declared.

“He isn’t my--!” Paradox fumed before sighing and pinching where the bridge of his nose would be if he had one. “I highly doubt that the Vanguard would appreciate the formation of such a ramshackle fireteam.”

“They’re asking for a name,” Leto bubbled. “Then we’re golden!”

“Ikora cannot possibly be on board with this,” Paradox crossed his arms. “She knows I’m more valuable working solo on the field.”

“Doesn’t seem like it!” Leto said.

“Enough with the objections,” Antonia said through a mouthful of vegan sausages. “These are great, where’d you get them?”

“I’ll show you sometime, it’s tucked away in an agricultural zone,” Max said, serving platters of breakfast dumplings full of rice, vegan sausage bits, and cabbage - with just a bit of hot sauce. Kirran helped himself. “Now, what’s your fireteam name?”

“We’re gonna need a good one,” Kirran said, through a half-chewed dumpling. “Holy shit, these are incredible…”

“Yeah, we need something  _ fierce _ , something  _ cool _ , something  _ catchy _ , something that’s gonna make all the bad guys piss themselves,” Antonia said, drinking almond milk right out of the jug from Max’s fridge.

“Well, the bad guys don’t really care what we call ourselves, do they?” Paradox posited, fuming beneath his patiently cooperative tone.

Everything in the room stopped.

“Oh my Light,” Antonia said.

“Traveller’s Light, that’s it,” Kirran agreed.

“Sounds like it, alright,” Max said, nibbling on a dumpling.

“What?” Paradox asked, confused.

“I can see it now…” Antonia said. “Everybody in the City, the Speaker, the Vanguard, chanting us on for taking out Crota and all the damned Hive on the Moon… “Three cheers for Fireteam The Bad Guys Don’t Really Care What We Call Ourselves, Do They!”

“This is a hallucination,” Paradox told himself.

“You are perfectly healthy,” Lexicon said. “It is the reality you find yourself in that is not.”

“I’ve sent in the corrected paperwork!” Leto announced. “Just needs Vanguard approval and we’ll be an official fireteam!”

“Fuck yeah!” Antonia declared.

“Fuck yeah,” Kirran concurred more calmly through the half-dozen dumplings in his mouth.

“Fuck yes,” Max flatly agreed, lifting his glass of water.

“This is still all assuming the Vanguard is going to approve of a stupid name like that,” Paradox reminded.

“You really think they’re gonna have a problem with it? Cayde’ll need a rez once he’s done laughing,” Antonia said.

“Zavala doesn’t really care,” Kirran added. “He likes fireteams that have original, creative names. It’s better than something generic like ‘Fireteam Spirit’.”

“I promise you,” Paradox said, “I guarantee, assure, and avow to you all in the name and Light and in view of the Traveller, Ikora would sooner shoot me dead then sign off on such an idiotic--”

“Attention Guardians,” Zavala’s voice suddenly crackled over the PA system which reached even down here to the dormitories. “Will Fireteam ‘The Bad Guys Don’t Really Care What We Call Ourselves Do They’ report to the Vanguard for assignment briefing at once? I repeat, will Fireteam ‘The Bad Guys Don’t Really Care What We Call Ourselves Do They’ please report to the Vanguard for assignment?”

A moment of silence.

“The first person to say anything about this, I’ll kill myself,” Paradox threatened.

“Congratulations, Fireteam The Bad Guys Don’t Really Care What We Call Ourselves Do They,” Max said, smiling as he took another sip of his drink.

“Lex, gear,” Paradox said, standing up as his Guardian gear materialized over his casuals in a crackling display of battle-readiness as he strode out of the apartment.

“He really does love you, dude,” Antonia laughed. “Let’s roll, fireteam.”


End file.
